The Premier League’s comeback presents an enticing fixture for football enthusiasts. Before the international break, Manchester City were involved in an enthralling game of football with Chelsea. The pulsating game ended 4-4, with former City Football Academy graduate, Cole Palmer, deciding the tie for Chelsea with a penalty late in added time.
This weekend, Man City face their closest rivals over the last few seasons, Liverpool on the return of club football. The storied rivalry between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will be renewed at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday during lunch time. Manchester City are just a point ahead of Liverpool after 12 games and need a positive result to keep their place on the top.
TEAM NEWS
OFFICIAL: THE TREBLE WINNERS ARE BACK. @ManCity pic.twitter.com/S8xC5bznhh
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) November 23, 2023
For the host, the primary concern going into this game centers around Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker suffered a recurrence of an ankle injury while on national team duty, putting his availability for leading the line against the Reds in doubt. However, there is a glimmer of hope as Haaland has been spotted in training, indicating a potential race against time to be fit.
On the injury front, Mateo Kovacic and John Stones are sidelined with quad and muscle injuries, with their return not anticipated until December. Despite initial concerns, Ederson and Nathan Ake, who withdrew from international games, are both expected to be fit for the starting lineup after being observed in training. Unfortunately, Kevin De Bruyne continues to be a long-term absentee.
On the other hand, Klopp comes into the game with a relatively healthy squad. Andy Robertson who recently had shoulder surgery has confirmed that he is making progress and could make his return before year ends. Thiago Alcantara is not expected back from injury until after the New Year.
MATCH EXPECTATIONS
After the game against Chelsea, Pep Guardiola asked reporters during the post-match presser, whether they enjoyed the game. The display from Manchester City on the day was far from controlling, something we are seeing more and more this season. City’s dominance in games this season has seemingly dropped with teams like Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle all being able to match City in areas across the field.
Against Liverpool, the open and strong attacking style off play cannot be the way to go considering the speed and intelligence possessed by Liverpool’s midfield and attack. Against Chelsea, Rodri was completely isolated, leaving him overwhelmed by the pressing of Chelsea’s midfield and Nicolas Jackson.
Liverpool are known to also press relentlessly with Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Mo Salah always seeking to turnover the ball in dangerous areas. Whether Doku or Grealish starts, they would need to be at their brilliant best to influence the game. Man City know how big this game is and it even feels like a title race game despite being so early in the season and Pep Guardiola will definitely try to avoid a similar result to the game against Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp’s team have been brilliant this season and bar the controversial defeat to Spurs in September, the Reds remain unbeaten heading into this crunch tie. The two teams know each other quite well and the upgrades on the midfield over the summer, are likely to make the game even more tactical than previous meetings.
This game promises to be another classic featuring 10-goal Mo Salah and 13-goal Erling Haaland, who could score his 50th goal in 48 games for City in the PL.
READ: Konstantinos Tsimikas or Joe Gomez? Liverpool’s left-back selection predicament vs Man City
PREDICTED STARTING XIs
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker; Dias, Gvardiol, Akanji; Rodri, Alvarez, Bernardo; Doku, Haaland, Foden.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez, Salah, Diaz.