The Premier League’s top two sides clash at Anfield on Sunday in the most anticipated fixture of the new season so far.
Liverpool have made the superior start to the season, with ten wins from their opening 11 games putting them on 31 points.
City are six points further back having suffered shock defeats to Norwich City and Wolves but have now won their last three matches in a row in the Premier League.
Both sides were forced to come from behind to win last Saturday against bottom half of the table opposition, but still carry good momentum into this eagerly awaited match up.
Team news
Liverpool are still expected to be without a key man in the center of defense Joel Matip, who is suffering from a knee injury.
Right-back Nathaniel Clyne and attacker Xherdan Shaqiri are both out too, with long term injuries that have restricted their appearances so far this season.
For City, summer signing Rodri is a doubt with a hamstring injury, while talisman David Silva could also be absent.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to be unavailable until December, and Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane are not likely to be available until at least February 2020.
Prediction
It is always hard to predict when these two face off, with this fixture last season seeing Riyad Mahrez miss a final minute penalty with the score at 0-0.
City did when the reverse fixture at the Etihad 2-1, but Liverpool have often had the upper hand over their rivals in recent seasons.
Pep Guardiola’s side are also without a number of key players and have struggled at the back as a result of Laporte’s absence.
However, Liverpool haven’t been quite as fluid going forward in the last month and will need to be at their best defensively to stop City’s attack.
On balance, given the relative strength of both sides, I think a 1-1 draw is most likely.
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