Preview: Manchester City vs. Liverpool
Liverpool travel to the Etihad for a massive game against Manchester City in the Premier League.
MANCHESTER CITY VS. LIVERPOOL
| Sunday, February 23rd |
Premier League | Etihad Stadium
4:30PM GMT/11:30AM EST
The games this season are flying by. Liverpool travel to the Etihad to play number 27 out of 38 on Sunday afternoon. Their old enemies sit 16 points behind them in fourth place, but this is still a big match at a big moment for Arne Slot’s Reds.
Their closest competitors for the title, Arsenal, lost their match against West Ham on Saturday, setting the stage for Liverpool possibly once again breaking the double digits lead barrier with a win of their own,
Another disappointing, but unsurprising, draw away to Aston Villa continued to slow momentum for the previously rampant Reds. However, games against Manchester City over the last decade have always been tense affairs, regardless of who was leading in the league at the time.
Following Real Madrid dumping City out of the Champions League, thanks in large part to a hat trick from Kylian MBappé, the Citizens now only have top four to play for this season, along with the FA Cup. They’ll be looking to spoil joy for the Reds on their home turf.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are winless in their last three away matches in all competitions. But where there’s a Mohamed Salah, there’s a way, and Arne Slot’s men are sitting at the top of the table for a reason. Three points on Sunday will be a statement of intent, as well as a widening of their lead.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota
Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton remain out for this game, along with Cody Gakpo and likely Conor Bradley as well.
Erling Haaland hurt his knee midweek and it’s unclear if he will be available for this match. That would be a huge loss for City. Also not in contention are John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Oscar Bobb.
What the Managers Had to Say
Arne Slot: “They’ve had maybe one or two months in the seven or eight years he’s there now that weren’t the best, maybe partly because of injuries as well. Injuries come back, they’ve signed three or four players, I can see them coming back already if you look at the result against Newcastle. So what you expect is what everybody expects if you go to the Etihad if you play against City. You have to suffer as well and work really hard to keep them away from your goal because they are so, so good in ball possession. But they face a strong team as well that hasn’t lost for 22 games.”
Pep Guardiola: “We can compete with any team. We have two central defenders out for two to three months. The Premier League is massively important for us. In the Premier League, we have played really good games.”
The Officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor. Assistants: Gary Beswick, Lee Betts. Fourth official: Andy Madley. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Adam Nunn.
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Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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