Liverpool vs. Man City
Venue: Anfield Stadium
Kick off: 4:30PM
Top spot is up for grabs at Anfield this afternoon as Liverpool and Manchester City face off in arguably the biggest fixture of the season to date.
The Citizens sit directly above their opponents by virtue of a superior goal difference after seven matches, but this is a fixture that they have struggled in down the years.
The Reds’ momentum from their perfect start to the season appears to have dried up, having now gone three matches without a win in all competitions.
A home defeat to Chelsea ended Liverpool’s EFL Cup campaign in the fourth round, while Wednesday’s loss away to Napoli means that they still have plenty of work to do if they are to progress through in the Champions League.
The third of those winless matches will surely be looked back in a more positive light, though, having scored late on through Daniel Sturridge at Stamford Bridge in their most recent Premier League outing to keep their unbeaten run intact.
A 1-1 draw away to Chelsea, particularly having trailed with just seconds of normal time remaining, ensures that the Reds are still very much in the hunt for a first title success since 1990.
Six wins from six marked their best ever start to a Prem campaign, in fact, and not since that memorable campaign 28 years ago had they started a campaign so strongly in all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp will be concerned by the drop off in results over the past week-and-a-half, however, especially as his front three are now looking a lot less prolific than last season, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino managing 10 goals between them in a combined 30 outings.
Even the best sides are guilty of having disappointing runs, though, and it does have to be factored in that the fixture list has not exactly been kind to Liverpool. In the words of Klopp himself, this weekend’s match provides a perfect chance for his players to quickly respond.
In a fixture that Liverpool have dominated down the years, they will be full of hope that a bad week can end on a real high, with the reward being top spot with nearly a quarter of the season played.
Winning games at Anfield does not tend to be too much of a problem for them, either, having won four in a row there in the Premier League and gone 24 matches without a defeat since April 2017 – the best-such run of any team in the top flight.
Klopp’s men are also on a 12-match streak without a league defeat against their established top-six rivals on home soil, including a narrow win over the Citizens earlier this year, suggesting that we could see a different Liverpool on Sunday.
Liverpool possible XI: Alisson, Robertson, Van Dijk, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Mane, Firmino, Salah.
Manchester City possible XI: Ederson, Zinchenko, Laporte, Otamendi, Walker, Bernardo, Fernandinho, D.Silva, Sane, Aguero, Sterling.