It has become the key game in the Premier League over the last four years or so, big-spending Manchester City and Liverpool have been the main title rivals over the last few years and the two will clash once again this weekend in their first league clash of the season.
Liverpool are the hosts and they defend the only remaining unbeaten record in the Premier League against a Manchester City side that have lost twice already this season, once in the EPL and in the week against Paris St Germain in the Champions League.
In contrast, Liverpool also had an away trip to FC Porto on Tuesday and emerged with a morale-boosting 5-1 victory on the road, which puts them in a very strong position in their group. The Reds also sit at the top of the Premier League, ahead of a clutch of five teams, including Manchester City, who sit just a point behind.
It promises to be an exciting game and has proven to be exciting for the neutral fan to watch over the years too. It is also a game popular with bettors with plenty of customers from sites like bet365 Games, Casino, Bingo or Poker tempted to have a flutter on the outcome!
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365 Bet365 Review
Remember if you are located in a state of the U.S. that permits sports betting then BetRivers Sportsbook offers an exceptional range of soccer bets, including all the top Premier League action.
Before we focus in on the big game at Anfield on Sunday, let’s take a look at the full list of fixtures taking place this weekend.
Premier League – Matchday 7
Saturday 2nd October
- Manchester United v Everton (12.30pm)
- Burnley v Norwich City
- Chelsea v Southampton
- Leeds United v Watford
- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United
- Brighton v Arsenal (5.30pm)
Sunday 3rd October
- Crystal Palace v Leicester City (2pm)
- Tottenham v Aston Villa (2pm)
- West Ham v Brentford (2pm)
- Liverpool v Manchester City (4.30pm)
Alongside the big game on Sunday, we have another Merseyside v Manchester game taking place at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime as Manchester United face Everton, with both sides in the pack of teams on 13 points, one behind leaders Liverpool.
Other key games see Chelsea taking on Southampton after losing two games in succession against Man City and Juventus, Brighton will hope to continue their excellent start to the season against Arsenal, while Burnley and Norwich will be looking to grab their first win of the season and potentially move out of the relegation zone in a game between the bottom two in the Premier League now.
However, it is the big game on Sunday which has attracted most attention and certainly will attract plenty of betting action, let’s take a look at the recent history of these two teams and why they are now such fierce rivals not just domestically but in the Champions League too.
Liverpool v Man City – A New Rivalry
For many years, Liverpool’s main rivals have been city neighbours Everton and Manchester
United. In general, the Reds fans have had no axe to grind with Manchester City, with the Citizens sometimes being in a division or two below the Reds.
However, when the new owners took over City and invested hundreds of millions in the club, attracting the world’s top players, City became serious rivals in the Premier League. Then when Liverpool appointed Jurgen Klopp as manager, followed by Pep Guardiola taking over from Manuel Pellegrini, the rivalry has only intensified.
Part of the reason for that has been Liverpool’s role as City’s main nemesis. In the 2017-18 season, Man City had gone unbeaten for over half the season before they came to Anfield and lost 4-3 in what was an incredible game.
Then a few weeks later, the Reds completed a double over City in the Champions League quarterfinals, beating them 3-0 at Anfield and 2-1 at the Etihad to knock them out of the competition.
The following season, City gained revenge when they and Liverpool went head-to-head for the title, both amassing a huge number of points, but City did just enough to pip the Reds to the title.
However, the following year, it was Liverpool that won the Premier League title for the first time but after they secured the crown, they suffered their heaviest defeat of the season as City beat them 4-0 at the Etihad.
Then last year, City not only won the Premier League title once again, as Liverpool’s defensive crisis plunged their season into chaos, but the Citizens also won their first game at Anfield in many years in emphatic style, beating the Reds 4-1 on home soil.
However, this season, City were beaten on the opening day of the season by Tottenham and although they have won four and drawn one of the following five games in the EPL, they were also beaten 2-0 by Paris St Germain in midweek at the Parc des Princes.
Liverpool have started the season well and remain the only unbeaten team in the Premier League with four wins and two draws. However, their defence, now restored to full strength, has looked a little shaky in some games, notably against Brentford last weekend who held the Reds to a 3-3 draw.
It all sets up very nicely for Sunday’s showdown at Anfield which will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and on various sports channels across the world and will likely attract an audience of hundreds of millions, if not billions, worldwide.
Liverpool v Manchester City Team News
Liverpool come into the game with a few players not fit to play. Harvey Elliott is out with a long-
term injury, while Thiago and Trent Alexander-Arnold both are unlikely to feature with thigh and groin issues respectively.
James Milner deputised at right back against FC Porto and will likely continue in that role. However, the Reds could be prompted to bring in Roberto Firmino after his two-goal salvo as a substitute against FC Porto, with Diogo Jota likely to be the man who makes way if Firmino starts.
- Predicted Liverpool XI – (4-3-3) – Alisson, Milner, Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, Henderson, Fabinho, Jones, Mane, Firmino, Salah.
Manchester City have their own injury worries ahead of this game with Ilkay Gundogan injured and Bernard Mendy unavailable. John Stones though is back in training after injury and could feature on the bench against Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s main decision is whether to go with a false-9, by benching Gabriel Jesus, City’s only natural striker, however Jesus has a good goalscoring record against Liverpool and after netting the winner against Chelsea last weekend and being on the bench in Paris, he looks likely to start at Anfield.
- Predicted Manchester City XI – (4-3-3) – Ederson, Walker, Cancelo, Laporte, Dias, Rodri, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Grealish, Jesus
Liverpool v Manchester City – Tips
So how do we see this game going? Well Liverpool are always a tricky side to beat at Anfield
and after their horrible run of defeats their last season, they seem to have found their home form in some style this season.
City though showed last week against Chelsea just how well they can play against a title rival, and the Reds will be well aware that the slip ups that contributed to their defeat last season to City, and the defensive lapses they showed against Brentford last weekend, cannot happen here.
This will be a very closely fought game, but I think Liverpool will do just enough to take the win, which is a 19/10 chance and I’d back them to win 2-1 (at 11/1) and for Mohamed Salah to score a goal at any time (which is a 5/4 shot).
Tune in at 4.30pm UK time on Sunday for the kick off for what should be another cracker between the two north west giants.
