Liverpool vs Manchester City

Liverpool and Manchester City go head-to-head at Anfield in a blockbuster Premier League top-table six-pointer.

Liverpool saw off Porto 5-1 on the road in the Champions League midweek to set themselves up nicely for this mouth-watering fixture. Going into this round, the ‘Reds’ are the only side yet to lose a Premier League match this season (W4, D2), having scored a league-high 15 goals in the process. Indeed, barring a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at this venue in late August, Jurgen Klopp’s men have netted 2+ goals in their remaining five top-flight outings, getting on the scoresheet before half-time on each occasion. However, Liverpool succumbed to a dreadful 4-1 defeat in this exact fixture last season and could now lose back-to-back league H2Hs as hosts for the first time since January 1953. Yet, the Merseysiders have won just one of their last seven Premier League meetings with reigning champions (D2, L4), courtesy of a 3-1 home victory over this opposition in 2019/20.

On the other hand, Manchester City suffered a 2-0 away defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, but they will fall back on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last Premier League round. Since a narrow 1-0 loss to Tottenham on the opening league weekend, Pep Guardiola’s men have gone unbeaten in their subsequent five top-flight outings (W4, D1) while keeping a clean sheet on each occasion. The ‘Citizens’ have not only registered five Premier League shutouts in a row, but they’ve prevented their opponents from producing a single shot on targets three times in the process. But entertainment has been relatively sparse in Man City’s away Premier League matches this season, with all three yielding the identical 1-0 scoreline. Guardiola has his personal agenda here as he faces Klopp he has lost to on more occasions in all competitions (8) than against any other manager.