Manchester City vs Liverpool Preview

Manchester City and Liverpool will look to bounce back from their respective bad outings in midweek when they face each other at the Etihad on Sunday.

City come into this tie on the back of an embarrassing 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League. The most recent result in that two-legged tie was a 3-1 loss away in Madrid, representing the  fourth time City has conceded 3+ goals in a game in their last eight outings.

The Premier League holders have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight games too, highlighting that part of the issue that has plagued them this season is their defence. This has left them with an unimaginable 17-point gap behind Liverpool.

They are also struggling to cement a top-four spot, a position they last finished outside in 2009/10. Still, they’re heading in the right direction with five wins in their last seven league matches (D1, L1). That lone loss was against a fellow top-four aspirant two rounds back when they were hammered 5-1 by Arsenal.

Coupled with their recent losses against Real Madrid, that now totals 13 defeats in all competitions this season – the most suffered in a single season by a Pep Guardiola-managed side. Hosting Liverpool may at least offer a chance to continue their decent league form over the last seven matches, as the Citizens have lost just one of the last 15 Premier League H2Hs at the Etihad (W8, D6).

Meanwhile, Liverpool will be desperate to bounce back from a disappointing 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, potentially allowing Arsenal back into the title race. That was their fourth draw in their last nine league games (W5), even though it extended their unbeaten run in the league to 22 games.

They will be on a mission to improve their poor record at the Etihad and register what would be just their third Premier League double over City after winning the reverse fixture 2-0 at Anfield. The timing of this game could hardly have been better for the Reds, who have won 11 of their last 13 Premier League games played on a Sunday (D2).

Hitting the road here shouldn’t bother them one bit either, since they’re the only side undefeated on their league travels this campaign (W9, D5), a run that has seen Arne Slot record the longest unbeaten start away from home by any boss in the history of the competition.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table