Preview: Liverpool vs Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

One earth-shattering guilty verdict later, Manchester City's poetic Premier League return takes place at 4.30pm on Sunday, when the table-toppers visit a vengeful Liverpool outfit at Anfield.

Enzo Maresca's men are the only Premier League team still boasting a 100% record after five games in 2026-27, but on-pitch perfection has paled into insignificance following the seismic news that shocked football to the core during the international break.

Match preview

Maresca's thumbs may be up, but his side will be going down if a plethora of rival supporters get their way, after an independent commission found Man City guilty of almost all of the 115 charges levelled against them by the Premier League over three and a half years ago.

From organising alleged 'sham' contracts to disguise true financial figures to purportedly refusing to co-operate with official investigations, the ruling against Man City marked a bombshell moment in English football, but the club continue to strenuously deny any wrongdoing and have submitted an appeal.

Jose Mourinho has joked he could be 80 by the time the saga finally reaches its conclusion, but the appeal process itself must be completed within 12 weeks, during which time Maresca's men can only focus on matters in their own control on the pitch.

The Citizens have gone about such business almost impeccably since their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, winning each of their first five Premier League games by an aggregate score of 13-5 while also making triumphant starts in the Champions League and the EFL Cup.

Man City survived a Brian Brobbey-sized scare to sink Sunderland 5-3 just before the international break, despite the Dutchman's Etihad hat-trick, although the visitors are now anticipated to face the most rambunctious Anfield atmosphere in recent memory.

Recipients of soul-shattering silver medals during the 2013-14 Premier League season - right in the thick of Man City's alleged offending period between 2009 and 2018 - Liverpool and their ardent fanbase will be fuelled on by the biggest sense of injustice during Sunday's main event.

The Reds never need any extra motivation to put in the performance of their careers against the Sky Blues, and Andoni Iraola's crop can expect fully-fledged support from rival fans up and down the country this weekend, as will be the case for any and every team to come up against Man City in the coming months.

Liverpool have been unable to replicate Man City's perfect Premier League record in 2026-27 so far, but the hosts remain unbeaten with two wins and three draws on their record, most recently eking out a 1-0 victory at a shot-shy Bournemouth to rise to sixth in the table.

Also emulating Man City's Champions League and EFL Cup successes, the Reds have prevailed in four of their last five matches in all competitions, scoring eight goals while shipping just one in the process.

However, Arne Slot's Liverpool lost all three of their meetings with Pep Guardiola's Man City in the 2025-26 season, but in the first Reds vs. Sky Blues meeting since 2015 without Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola barking orders, the fallout may take precedence over the full-time scoreline.

Liverpool Premier League form:

Liverpool form (all competitions):

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Team News

The last thing already-apprehensive Man City fans needed over the international break was an injury scare to Erling Haaland, but they got exactly that when the Golden Boot holder appeared to limp off for Norway against Portugal.

However, there are no serious concerns over Haaland's fitness for the trip to Merseyside, as Maresca confirmed in his pre-game press conference - amid the slew of charges-related questions.

There were no updates on Nico O'Reilly (knock) or Antoine Semenyo (ankle), although neither man is believed to be carrying a severe problem, while Phil Foden completes his three-game domestic suspension.

Both Man City and Liverpool suffered scares over Scandinavian strikers during the pause, as Alexander Isak withdrew from the Sweden squad with a thigh problem and has been ruled out of this contest.

Cody Gakpo (ankle) is in the exact same boat, and with Hugo Ekitike (Achilles) also out of contention for at least several more weeks, Iraola may be forced to deploy Bradley Barcola as his attacking focal point.

Jeremy Jacquet (thigh) and Federico Chiesa (back) are in better shape, though - the former has been declared fit and the latter is back in training - but Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) will both watch on from the sidelines.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Munoz; Barcola

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Guehi, Dias, Gvardiol; Fernandez, Anderson; Ndiaye, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

We say: Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City

Liverpool vs. Man City matches were hard enough to predict without factoring in the consequences of the Sky Blues' unprecedented recent period, but Maresca saw a handful of his players - most notably Nico O'Reilly and Marc Guehi - make uncharacteristic mistakes during the international break, potentially with the charges on their minds.

Even though the Reds have little in the way of out-and-out strikers, Iraola's men should feed off the febrile Anfield atmosphere and breach the City backline multiple times, but even that may not be enough to keep a galvanised Citizens side from taking home a share of the spoils.

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