Manchester City and Liverpool will meet in a massive six-point affair on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. Why is this a six-point affair? The winner will have the inside track after eight games to win the league title.
Liverpool currently sit at the top of the Premier League table with 16 points from 21 possible. Manchester City are five points off of the Reds going into the game and could pull closer or drop further in the race to regain the league trophy.
Manchester City head into the game in good form. After losing 5-2 at home against Leicester City, they went on a four-game unbeaten run in the league.
Last weekend, the Cityzens narrowly defeated Sheffield United 1-0. They followed up the win in midweek Champions League play with a 3-0 victory against Olympiacos.
Liverpool have won back-to-back games in the league with identical 2-1 wins against West Ham and Sheffield United. They thrashed Serie A’s Atalanta in midweek with a 5-0 win in Champions League play. Diogo Jota scored a hat-trick.
Manager Jurgen Klopp is likely to play Jota alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah once more against Manchester City. The trio all scored in midweek and Jota’s play combined with Roberto Firmino’s poor performances have led to a change in Klopp’s team.
The bigger issue for Klopp is which centre-back pair will play. Virgil van Dijk’s injury has left a hole at the back. If Joel Matip returns to the team this weekend to partner Joe Gomez, it will give Liverpool a sturdy defence.
Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both ruled out of the game. Thiago Alcantara could return to the side after sitting out the last two league games with a knee injury.
Pep Guardiola could start Ferran Torres in attack after he scored in midweek versus Olympiacos. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus are options to centre the team’s attack around. Sergio Aguero is ruled out with an injury.
Manchester City won this fixture 4-0 last season. However, that result should be thrown out. Why? Liverpool won the title earlier in the same week and looked well off the pace from partying. Liverpool are unbeaten in seven of their last nine games against Manchester City in all competitions.
The Reds were rampant in midweek and should do to Manchester City what Leicester City did earlier in the campaign. Liverpool should gain a second win in three tries against Manchester City in a thriller at the Etihad.
Expect both powerhouse teams to score and over 2.5 goals as Liverpool claim a massive six-point win versus their biggest title rival.