Liverpool vs Man City Preview

Premier League GW13

Heading to Anfield, one of the toughest grounds for any Premier League side, during the worst run of form Manchester City have had during their time under Pep Guardiola. It’s not easy to be positive about getting a result let alone the title race. With Ruben Dias likely back involved, De Bruyne able to play more minutes, and knowing how quickly narratives can change in football, you wonder if this could be the moment that turns around the season for Manchester City.

Previous Results

• Manchester City have lost their last three Premier League matches against Bournemouth (2-1), Brighton (2-1), and Spurs (0-4).

• Liverpool have won their last three Premier League matches against Brighton (2-1), Aston Villa (2-0), and Southampton (2-3).

Notable Injuries:

• Manchester City Rodri (knee), Bobb, and Kovacic. Jeremy Doku and John Stones are facing late fitness tests. Ruben Dias is expected to be involved.

• Liverpool are without Tsimikas, Chiesa, Alisson (thigh), Jota (chest), Konate (knee), and Bradley (thigh).

Interesting Liverpool Stats:

• Across Europe’s Top Five Leagues this season, only Juventus (7) and Bayern Munich (7) have conceded fewer goals than Liverpool (8). Thirteen other teams have scored more goals than Liverpool this season (24), with Barcelona (42) scoring the most.

• Mohamed Salah (16) leads the Premier League for most G+A, and carries into the penalty area (40). Virgil van Dijk (1,116) has had the most touches on the ball.

• Liverpool have had more shots from fast breaks (20) than any other team in the Premier League this season, second to only Spurs (9) for goals from those situations (5).

If you want to stay updated with individual player minutes, underlying team numbers, and the back four used for each match, check out the live Google sheet linked below. 👇

Here is how Liverpool set up against Real Madrid midweek in what was their most impressive performance and result of the season, despite it being against a team that’s had its fair share of struggles this season in the Champions League. Powerful and athletic midfield three in Mac Allister, Jones, and Graveberch. Kelleher has stepped up in the absence of Alisson again and has been superb. Konate and Bradley dealt well with the left side of Madrid (Mbappe/Bellingham) but both are likely out against City later today.

Liverpool are a more patient and conservative side in possession than they were under Jurgen Klopp. Pinning the opposition back to create chances but still willing to play vertically when there was space to exploit through Diaz and Salah. It’s the balance between these two approaches Slott has brought in and helped to make the team as successful as they have been during the start of the season.

I wouldn’t want to see City press in a 4-4-2 as the midfield of Liverpool, especially Mac Allister is capable of quickly adjusting his position to find pockets of space, dragging players with him and in turn opening up the space to expose our six in transition. It’s got to be more compact, less aggressive, and about protecting the middle. Diaz has a lot of freedom to support when Liverpool is being pressed so Walker or Lewis, whoever is at right-back has to be switched on to track that movement.

I think City needs to be careful about not dropping their line too deep in response to the recent results, as soon as you do VVD will spot the switch out to Salah. Liverpool generally press in a 4-2-4 and it’s something City should be quite used to, and be able to play through if they are willing to play the pass quickly. The space is there to get through them but you cannot afford to be wasteful with the final pass once into the final third.

Slott is bold enough to make changes early on, at halftime he will change personnel or tactics depending on how the game is going. If Manchester City have success in the first half expect some changes, if there is a gap they will target it.

The return of Ruben Dias is desperately needed for Manchester City if it wasn’t already clear from his words prematch. He’ll have an impact on the dressing room and on how organized the team is defending. So far this season Ruben Dias has only lost one (Spurs LC) of the eleven matches he’s started, drew twice (Inter, Arsenal), and won the rest.

Predicted Lineup:

Predicted Score: Liverpool 2-2 Man City