The stumbling champions meet the scintillating challengers in Sunday's Premier League headline act, as Liverpool and Manchester City engage in a battle of the behemoths at Anfield.
Victory for Arne Slot's side would see them increase their already unassailable lead over the Citizens in the top-flight table to 11 points, potentially extinguishing the visitors' hopes of a fabulous five-peat with just a third of the season gone.
Match preview
© Imago
Warming up for the visit of the English champions by conquering the European champions, Liverpool ended their Real Madrid hoodoo in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, where the collector's item of a missed Mohamed Salah penalty proved inconsequential.
Alexis Mac Allister's slick finish, Cody Gakpo's well-placed header and Caoimhin Kelleher's sensational stop from Kylian Mbappe's own unsuccessful spot kick prolonged Liverpool's 100% start to the 2024-25 competition, meaning that Slot's crop remain on top of the country and the continent.
A routine beating of the 15-time European champions succeeded a gargantuan effort in last weekend's top-vs-bottom battle at Southampton, who threatened to hand Slot his first away defeat as Liverpool boss before South Coast saviour Salah arrived with a pivotal second-half brace.
Safe in the knowledge that they will retain an insurmountable lead at the summit no matter what transpires on Sunday, Liverpool host the champions on a six-game winning run across all competitions, scoring multiple goals in all of those successes and keeping clean sheets in their last three Anfield affairs versus Real Madrid, Aston Villa and Bayer Leverkusen.
Already joining Carlo Ancelotti and Guus Hiddink in the exclusive club of Premier League managers to win 10 of their first 12 games, Slot now endeavours to continue a positive Liverpool trend; none of the Reds' last six bosses has lost their first Premier League match against the reigning champions of England.
© Imago
As Slot masterminded a triumph over the Champions League holders with his current club, the Dutchman' former employers Feyenoord were ostensibly resigned to a heavy beating at the hands of a rejuvenated Man City, who had three goals to their name by the 53rd minute.
However, the unpredicted plight of Guardiola's men arguably hit its lowest ebb yet, as they became the first team ever in the Champions League to blow a three-goal lead in the final 15 minutes, where Slovakian defender David Hancko completed a monstrous comeback for the Rotterdam giants.
Entering the press conference room with a cut on nose and visible scratches on his head, Guardiola - who quickly had to clarify comments he made about wishing to harm himself - oversaw a sixth straight game without victory for the crumbling champions, who have not triumphed in any tournament since late October.
Last weekend's embarrassing 4-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur means that the Citizens are at risk of being expelled from the top four entirely this weekend - Arsenal, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion are all just one point worse off at the time of writing - and each of City's last four matches on the road has ended in defeat.
If there is any shred of comfort for the Sky Blues faithful, it is their side's outstanding attacking record on rival turf; Guardiola's men have scored in 26 consecutive matches away from home, last being shut out on the road by Aston Villa nearly exactly 12 months ago.
Man City have also strung together a four-match unbeaten sequence versus Liverpool since last going down at Anfield in October 2022, with both meetings in Jurgen Klopp's farewell campaign ending 1-1. However, Guardiola's 27% win rate (6/22) against the Reds is his worst percentage versus any team he has taken on at least five times as a manager - yet another bad omen for a crestfallen Citizens contingent.
Team News
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After making his return to the matchday squad against Real Madrid as an unused substitute, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been passed fit to start Sunday's showpiece by Slot, a timely boost given that Conor Bradley suffered a suspected hamstring issue in the Champions League.
Bradley was one of two fresh concerns for Liverpool on Wednesday, as Ibrahima Konate also sustained an apparent leg problem at the final whistle and has confirmed that he faces a spell out, so Joe Gomez could make his first Premier League start of the season alongside Virgil van Dijk.
Federico Chiesa (fitness), Diogo Jota (abdominal), Alisson Becker (hamstring) and Kostas Tsimikas (ankle) are also not anticipated to return on December 1, where Slot may restrict himself to just the one unenforced change in the shape of Dominik Szoboszlai for Curtis Jones.
As for Man City, one of the few positives they could take from their Feyenoord capitulation was personnel-related; integral defender Ruben Dias was back on the bench after a calf injury, and no more players entered the Etihad infirmary with fresh issues.
Jeremy Doku (thigh) was also back in training before the Champions League clash and might be in line for a comeback on Sunday, but John Stones (foot), Rodri (ACL), Oscar Bobb (leg) and Mateo Kovacic (unspecified) remain unavailable.
Guardiola resisted the urge to throw Kevin De Bruyne in from the first whistle in midweek, but both the Belgian and Savinho could threaten to disrupt the harmony in the final third, and the Catalan coach also has a massive decision to make on Matheus Nunes after his bright UCL display.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Nunes, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Silva, Haaland, Savinho
We say: Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City
No matter how dire City's situation appears to be, Guardiola's side can almost always be backed to come good in the attacking third away from their Etihad headquarters, and their hot streak on the road should not cease here thanks to Konate's worrying blow.
However, Guardiola's defence is only one game away from its latest catastrophe, and with the lack of an omnipotent Rodri-like enforcer in the midfield, the champions should be conquered by the challengers in the most devastating blow to their title defence yet.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
