Liverpool vs Manchester City preview, tickets, team news & prediction

We have a huge Premier League clash to look forward to this weekend as runaway leaders Liverpool take on defending champions Manchester City at Anfield.

New Reds boss Arne Slot couldn’t have asked for a better start to life on Merseyside after replacing Jurgen Klopp in the summer. It was never expected to be an easy task following on from Klopp, but the Dutchman has enjoyed a near faultless opening three months with Liverpool sitting top of the Premier League table.

The Merseysiders have won 10, drawn one and lost one of their 12 league games so far and extended their lead at the top at the weekend to eight points. City’s poor form continued with a shock 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday evening making it three league defeats on the bounce, and five in all competitions.

This opened the door for Liverpool to cement their place at the summit and they took it with both hands at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. While Southampton proved to be tough opposition, despite sitting bottom of the table, Liverpool dug deep and came from 2-1 down to claim a 3-2 victory thanks to a second half double from Mo Salah.

The Reds are now the bookies favourites to reclaim the title this season and they can extend their lead over City to a whopping 11 points with a win at Anfield on Sunday. It would be tough to see Man City overhaul such a deficit, and even Pep Guardiola admitted his side would be out of the title race if they lost this weekend.

The Spanish coach will be demanding a response from his players following their humiliating defeat to Spurs and they have the perfect opportunity to bounce back and get themselves in the title fight with a win over Liverpool on Sunday.

Tickets

Understandably, Liverpool vs Manchester City is expected to be a sell-out with tickets for the game in high demand. However, supporters can still secure their seat at Anfield with GO Sport Travel offering excellent packages for the game. Fans can buy just tickets for the match or purchase a matchday package that also includes accommodation.

Team news

Arne Slot has a few key injury concerns heading into the game. Trent Alexander-Arnold missed the win over Southampton with a thigh injury that also kept him out of England duty during the recent international break. The full-back is expected to return to training this week but it remains to be seen whether he’ll be deemed fit enough to return against City.

Alisson Becker is still working his way back to full fitness from a thigh injury that’s kept him on the sidelines for the past two months. The City game will come too soon but the Brazilian could return the following week.

Diogo Jota is also expected to miss the visit of Man City on Sunday due to an abdominal injury but he could also be back in action at the start of December. Federico Chiesa is another doubt for the Reds as he’s still working his way back to full fitness.

As for Manchester City, they’ll continue to be without the services of influential midfielder Rodri as he’s set to miss the majority of the season with a knee injury.

Mateo Kovacic is also out with an injury that will keep him on the sidelines for up to a month while Oscar Bobb won’t be back until February due to a calf problem.

Ruben Dias faces a race against time to be fit to face Liverpool due to a calf complaint while Jeremy Doku will also need a test on a thigh injury.

Prediction

This has always been a huge game over the past few years but this clash feels particularly important as defeat for City could spell an end to their title defence before the New Year. 11 points would be a mountain for them to climb so Liverpool will be desperate to maintain their superb form and inflict another defeat on City.

Home advantage could prove decisive but we can’t rule out City just yet. They are still a fine side and with Kevin de Bruyne returning to fitness, Guardiola will hope to see an improvement in performances and results.

While Liverpool are running away with it at the top of the table, they have ridden their luck at times and were perhaps fortunate to take all three points from Southampton. There should be goals at Anfield and we’re going to predict the points are shared. Liverpool 2-2 Man City