Man City vs Liverpool Preview: Who’s going to dominate?

To his disappointment, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will be playing in the early Saturday Premier League match after the international break. Manchester United will face Manchester City in a crucial game at etihad as both teams are currently on top of the league table. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, renowned for clinching the treble, leads Liverpool by only one point to this eagerly awaited clash. The success streak of the hosts had surprisingly been stopped a couple of weekends ago.

Two weeks ago, Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, and Mateo Kovacic—all ex Chelsea’s players—came back to Stamford Bridge playing in various shades of blue, since they switched clubs at the end of the 2021 West London also felt like there was a chance that one of them could turn out to be the hero.

In fact, Sterling did score against his previous team, helping to secure the second goal for Chelsea. Yet, it was Palmer who left a big impact on his former team. In the end he stayed cool and scored from the spot on penalties in the dying moments of an exciting game that saw eight goals being shared by both teams.

Although Manchester City scored four times, with two from Erling Haaland, a header by Manuel Akanji and a deflected shot by Rodri, Pep Guardiola’s side could not improve on its current five match winning run. They drew just one point on top of the table.

The pressure is on as Liverpool, Arsenal, and possibly Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are just about there waiting to pounce. On the other hand, Manchester City’s recent performances at Stamford Bridge, where they have scored at least 3 goals in their last 5 matches is a good indication for them.

In addition, no English team has beaten Manchester City at the Etihad in the Premier League during this season. On New Year’s Eve 2022, United did a draw with Everton, and since then, they have won 15 out of 15 home league matches in 2023. The have not lost at home in any tournament for a period of 23 consecutive victories.

Manchester City stands on the verge of reproducing a record in English football history. They have a possibility of equaling Sunderland’s record of 24 straight away wins at home a feat which was set in between 1890 and 1892. With this in mind, this Liverpool team that is reenergized and is looking forward to correcting the mistakes of the past matchups is an added motivation.

Liverpool, who had lost the lead challenger to Arsenal last year, are now close rivals for Manchester City. this is mainly attributed to the fact that it conceded only a single goal above that of arsenal. The recent performance of Liverpool is mainly due to key players like Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota.

The crucial saves of goalkeeper Alisson Becker have often saved Liverpool in the game they played against Brentford. The defense was good enough as Salah scored a brace while Jota made one of the best shots in that match.

However, Liverpool’s performance away from Anfield has somewhat been poor. In their last five away games, Jurgen Klopp’s team only has a single win, and they haven’t won a game in three previous games in the Premier League. The last time they kept a clean sheet away from home was back in May. Their recent visits to the Etihad have been particularly indicative of these defensive problems. In December, they lost in EFL Cup 3-2 and in April it was 4-1. Significantly, they previously last won in the Premier League at the Etihad in November 2015 when Klopp just became manager.