Manchester City are set to travel west to face current Premier League leaders Liverpool. Arne Slot’s men have had a historic start to the season, with seventeen wins in nineteen matches in all competitions, unbeaten away, unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League and suffering just one defeat in Premier League almost three months ago. .

Liverpool are currently eight points ahead of their Manchester rivals, with the possibility of being eleven points ahead of Manchester City and remaining nine points ahead of Arsenal.

Arne Slot enters this meeting undefeated in his last fifteen outings in all competitions. However, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are yet to record a victory since October 26, losing six of their last seven games and blowing a three-goal lead against Arne Slot’s former team Feyenoord in their midweek clash in the Champions League.

Form, however, does not come into play when these two titans of recent years meet, with each team expected to be motivated for the affair and a stellar match expected.

Liverpool

Arne Slot spoke to the media during the week on the injuries of Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate. We also saw Federico Chiesa return to full team training during the week. Trent Alexander-Arnold should be fully fit to face Manchester City at Anfield for the first time in four years. But there are some key absences from the team.

Alisson Becker (hamstring), Conor Bradley (hamstring), Ibrahima Konate (knee injury), Kostas Tsimikas (ankle injury), Diogo Jota (rib injury)

Manchester City

The Manchester Blue Side are also dealing with their share of injuries, having lost their star midfielder, Rodri, for the remainder of the season, they also have depth issues for their team.

John Stones (muscle injury), Mateo Kovacic (muscle injury), Rodri (cruciate ligament injury), Jeremy Doku (thigh injury), Oscar Bobb (broken leg)

Liverpool – (4-2-3-1)

GK – Caoimhin Kelleher: As Alisson nears his return to the first team, Kelleher hasn’t slowed down, a monstrous clean sheet against Real Madrid in midweek, which included a penalty save – Liverpool’s first player in almost 130 years saving three consecutive penalties for club and country – and his confidence should be extremely high. I’m expecting another defensive effort from Caoimh and his backline in this outing, as Machester City can’t seem to solve their midfield issues. This has left Haaland hungry for quality chances in recent games.

RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold: With Conor Bradley suffering a late hamstring problem during the midweek Champions League clash with Real Madrid, Trent is now fit again and is expected to appear for the first time in this match during the last four years. It’s a shame that Bradley won’t be able to play in this game, as his performance during the week has left some wondering if Trent should start.

CB-Joe Gomez: Ibrahima Konate, with essentially the last kick of the match, suffered what is reported as an MCL injury. The injury is expected to keep the Frenchman out for over a month, a major loss to Liverpool’s defensive efforts for that period. But, thankfully, we have experience and youthful exuberance on the sidelines in the form of Joe Gomez, the elder statesman and longest-serving Liverpool player, and Jarell Quansah, the rising star whom we are all excited to see it grow. There is also Amara Nallo, the young prospect who should soon join the first team. But for this match, experience is everything, so Gomez gets the nod.

CB – Virgil van Dijk: With Ibrahima Konate set to miss a lengthy period through injury, the responsibility for the backline falls even more on the captain’s shoulders. A leader of men who will no doubt rally the squad and continue Liverpool’s incredible defensive record so far this season. Still the best in the Premier League with only eight goals conceded.

LB-Andrew Robertson: Robbo loves big games, never more evident than his midweek performance against Real Madrid. Many questions were raised over the possibility of playing Joe Gomez ahead of the Scotland international, but these were quickly silenced in the first half of the clash. Robertson had the best game of the season so far on Wednesday night and given the scale and impact of today’s game, we would also expect the same result.

MDP – Ryan Gravenberch: Facing a Real Madrid midfielder made up of Camavinga, Bellingham and Modric, the 22-year-old Dutch international was out of phase. Dominating the midfield and running the show for most of the match. Provides a release valve to the defense when pressed and pushes the ball forward to turn the side and create transition opportunities for Liverpool. Seven passes into the final third, a 92% passing accuracy and a couple of interceptions to round off an incredible performance that we have come to expect from the young midfielder. Player of the Year shouldn’t be ruled out for Gravenberch just yet. Expect his performance to continue against a Manchester City midfielder who currently lacks legs and depth.

MDP – Curtis Jones: Jones, Gravenberch and Mac Allister, one of the best midfielders on the pitch of the week, essentially ran the show against the Real Madrid midfield. Playing passes at will, creating space and crossing the lines while being incredibly resilient under pressure. Jones was a key element in this resistance of the press, his ability to retain the ball allowed the attack to prepare and create chances. One criticism of the young Scouser is that he does not release the ball quickly enough to play the role of attacking midfielder, hence the return to the double pivot. This will allow for a massive level of control in the core areas, with Gravenberch also being in the same vein of press resistance.

CAM – Alexis Mac Allister: When he was the most advanced midfielder of the three, Mac Allister was lethal. Just sitting outside the box, the ability to create with short, quick passes and follow up with runs into the box, a natural attacking midfielder. This was demonstrated during Liverpool’s first goal. Received the ball outside the box, a quick one-two pass with Conor Bradley and a fantastic finish with a man on the hip to beat Courtois, who looked unbeatable on Wednesday night. Given the current weakness of Manchester City’s midfield and the lack of running he is capable of, expect to see Mac Allister in a similar advancing role to create space and penetration with his passing behind and his follow-up runs.

AD – Mohamed Salah: A missed penalty opportunity in midweek may have left some worried that Mohamed Salah’s confidence might be slightly shaken. However, we don’t think so. Salah is a great player, and there has been no more important game so far this season than the upcoming game against Manchester City. I would expect Salah to return to his goal creator to extend his lead as the top goal contributor in the Premier League.

ST-Darwin Nunez: After an exceptional match against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, where if any other goalkeeper was playing other than Courtois, Nunez has at least two goals to his name. Pressing heavily and dropping into midfield to provide link-up play and progressive carry, Nunez appears to be imposing on this front. While some would have said he would fail to adapt to the new style of play and would fall out of favor with the new head coach, it seems the opposite is true. Granted, both Jota and Chiesa have been injured so far, but Darwin has taken the chance presented to him and is essentially playing the role of Bobby Firmino and playing a hybrid between a false 9 and a real striker, according to the team they are in. play. Expect more of the same in this release with a possible payback for his hard work.

LW – Luis Diaz: With Manchester City’s backline depleted on the right side and the only real option played there is Kyle Walker, we would expect the right side of Manchester City’s flank to be the most attacked in this case. fixing. Diaz, with his dribbling ability and pace, along with Darwin’s pace and line-breaking ability, will create canyons of space for chances. The Colombian could end up getting some returns in this match.

Manchester City – (3-2-4-1)

Ederson, Ake, Dias, Gvardiol, Akanji, Gundogan, Silva, Nunez, Foden, Grealish, Haaland

Luis Diaz – 18 assists, 9 goals, 2 assists

With Manchester City’s right flank shifting, Kyle Walker has lost several steps of pace and the other defenders apart from Gvardiol aren’t much better, however, the Croatian will find himself on City’s left side starting XI. We can see Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz feasting from the left position in this match, trading back and forth to create chaos and disparity within Manchester City’s defensive line.

Erling Haaland – 20 assists, 18 goals, 0 assists

Although Haaland has been quiet of late, that doesn’t silence the concerns of most because without Ibrahima Konate, the defensive job of keeping him in a calm game becomes more difficult. With a centre-back pairing of Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, they will have their hands full with the Manchester City striker. Haaland is averaging almost a goal per game so far this season, and although he has scored little in recent outings, most recently against Arne Slot’s former team Feyenoord, he has scored twice , one on the play and one on the penalty spot. place. The level of success he has against the Reds will determine a lot of this game.

Anfield

Sun December 1, 4:00 p.m.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh (photo). Assistants: Lee Betts, Darren Cann. Fourth official: Anthony Taylor. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Tim Wood.

Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City