Sunday sees Liverpool and Manchester City meet at Anfield with the defending champions needing to win on Merseyside to stand any chance of reeling in the Premier League leaders. Pep Guardiola’s men are eight points adrift coming into this one while Arne Slot’s side are eyeing an 11-point cushion which would potentially end any lingering hope of a fifth consecutive EPL crown for the visitors.
The hosts saw off Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League in midweek thanks to Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo goals as well as a penalty save against Kylian Mbappe by Caoimhin Kelleher which kept the Reds 100% in Europe. Mohamed Salah’s missed penalty did not cost Slot’s troops who currently lead the way domestically as well as on the continent but he was the hero last time out in the EPL away at Southampton.
The Dutch tactician’s former club Feyenoord damaged City in midweek by fighting back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Guardiola and his players making unwanted history as the first UCL side to ever blow a three-goal lead with 15 minutes to go. The Catalan tactician looked distressed postgame with scratches on his head and face as well as a visible cut on his nose having just seen his side fail to win for the sixth consecutive game across all competitions. City do have a four-game unbeaten run going against Liverpool but Guardiola has only won 27% of his meetings with the Merseyside giants — his worst ratio against any side he has faced five times or more.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 1 | Time: 11 a.m. ET
- Location: Etihad Stadium – Manchester, England
- Watch: USA Network | Stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Liverpool +110; Draw +270; City +230
Season so far
Liverpool know that a win can open up an 11-point lead at the Premier League summit but that a defeat will still leave them with five. The Reds have won six games across all competitions with Slot boosted by three clean sheets against Real Madrid, Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen as well as at least two goals in each of those games. The Dutchman has joined Carlo Ancelotti and Guus Hiddink as the EPL managers who have won 10 of their first 12 games.
City could drop out of the top four entirely this weekend with Arsenal and Chelsea looking to make the most of Brighton and Hove Albion’s draw with Southampton. A humiliating 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur is made worse by the fact that Liverpool could add to a run of four consecutive away losses for Guardiola’s side. However, the Citizens have scored in 26 straight games on the road with their last failure to score coming against Aston Villa almost one year ago.
Team news
Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit again while Conor Bradley suffered an injury against Real along with Ibrahima Konate who expects to be sidelined. Joe Gomez could start alongside Virgil van Dijk but Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota, Alisson Becker and Kostas Tsimikas are not expected back for Slot who could swap Dominik Szoboszlai for Curtis Jones.
Possible Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez.
City: Ruben Dias should be back while Jeremy Doku is close to recovering but John Stones, Rodri, Oscar Bobb and Mateo Kovacic are all out. Guardiola could use Kevin De Bruyne from the start unlike in midweek while Savinho could also come in while Matheus Nunes is also an option.
Possible City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Nunes, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Silva, Haaland, Savinho.
Prediction
Liverpool will be absolutely delighted with the timing of this game and City’s form and given their momentum, it is hard to see Slot’s men not taking this chance to absolutely bury Guardiola’s side and their lingering title hopes. Pick: Liverpool 2, City 0.
