In a game that could very well hint at where the Premier League title will end up come May, Manchester City and Liverpool battle one another at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola's side hold a one-point advantage over the Reds at the summit after 30 games in the 2021-22 season, but they previously held an eight-point lead over their Merseyside counterparts.
The Citizens' most recent Premier League game saw them record a 2-0 win at Burnley, and they also saw off Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in midweek.
Meanwhile, Liverpool beat Watford by the same scoreline last weekend, and their midweek meeting with Benfica at the Estadio da Luz ended in a 3-1 success.
Ahead of Sunday's gargantuan encounter, Sports Mole picks a combined XI from both squads, using only players expected to be available for the game.
It was a straight toss-up for the last line of defence between two goalkeepers who can barely be separated in the statistical categories this term, with Alisson Becker and Ederson both recording a league-high 17 clean sheets this term - while they have also conceded just 18 goals each - but we have just given the edge to the Liverpool man on the basis of doing so in one fewer match.
While Kyle Walker can always prove himself to be a dependable performer for City, Trent Alexander-Arnold's league-high 11 assists means that his spot at right-back in this XI was never up for debate. There was certainly a case to include Joao Cancelo on the opposite side of the defence given how well he has taken to the left-back role, but Andy Robertson and his own double-figure assist haul could not be overlooked.
Ruben Dias would have been a guaranteed contender for this XI had he not been ruled out with a hamstring injury, but there is one City representative in the backline in the form of Aymeric Laporte, who has re-established himself as a key member of Guardiola's rearguard with three goals and a phenomenal 95.2% pass accuracy in the 2021-22 season. Joel Matip was unfortunate to lose out to the Spain international and is on the substitutes bench' for our team, with Virgil van Dijk and his 3.6 aerials won per game waltzing into the XI.
If choosing between Alisson and Ederson was not difficult enough, Fabinho and Rodri's battle to be selected for the number six spot was another very close contest. The former has offered a bit more of a goal threat this term, but Rodri's greater all-round contribution sees him just edge it.
A Liverpool-dominated defence moves into a City-dominated midfield, with Kevin De Bruyne already hitting double figure goals for the league campaign and easily fighting off Jordan Henderson, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan for this spot. There is one red representative in our midfield, with Thiago Alcantara demonstrating his class on a consistent basis when fit this term and posting an average pass accuracy of 87.3% so far.
Mohamed Salah has not been able to keep up his phenomenal goalscoring streak since the international break, but the Egyptian wing king is staking his claim as the best in the world with 20 goals and 10 assists in the league so far this term and was a comfortable pick over Riyad Mahrez. The left-hand side was a bit more of a challenge given Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling's exploits this term - while Luis Diaz has taken to English football with aplomb - but Sadio Mane is no stranger to a goal in this fixture and gets the nod from us.
With City still lacking that focal point in attack since Sergio Aguero's departure, it only made sense to include the ever-impressive Diogo Jota as our number nine, with the Portuguese attacker already tallying 14 Premier League goals this season - level with Son Heung-min and only behind Salah - and he completes this largely Liverpool-dominated combined XI.
Ben Knapton
