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Premier League leaders Manchester City host Liverpool at the Etihad in Saturday’s late kickoff. Only one game has ended in a draw in the last five times both sides have met while both won their respective home games last season. Both sides have injury concerns, but for Liverpool few players have returned from injury during the international break.
Jurgen Klopp lost his first game as in charge as Liverpool manager just before the international break against Crystal Palace and will be looking to get his team back on track in a difficult fixture against table toppers Manchester City at the Etihad.
Kickoff and Live Telecast
Channel: Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD1
Live Stream: starsports.com
Date and Time: Saturday, 21 November 2015 – 23:00 IST (17:30 BST)
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Team News
Manchester City will be missing a few big names against Liverpool, including captain Vincent Kompany, who was injured during the international break. Wilfried Bony and Samir Nasri are out with a hamstring injury while David Silva is yet to return from his ankle injury.
Good news for Manuel Pellegrini is Sergio Aguero is fit again for selection, and with no other senior striker available he might be forced to start him on his return from injury. The back four of Sagna, Mangala, Otamendi and Kolarov are expected to start, with Fernando and Fernandinho in the middle of the park. Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are certain to start as wide attackers, with Yaya Toure behind Sergio Aguero.
Liverpool have had big injury concerns this season with likes of Joe Gomez and Danny Ings ruled out of the season already, but a number of players have returned from injury during the international break. Daniel Sturridge is fit again and available for selection, but it is believed both he and Benteke will be left on the bench with Roberto Firmino starting up front.
Skipper Jordan Henderson has also returned to full training, but the game against Manchester City is a bit too soon for him. Mamadou Sakho is out with a ligament injury while Jon Flanagan and Jordan Rossiter are expected to return to training next week. In the absence of Sakho, Dejan Lovren is expected to start alongside Martin Skrtel.
Probable Lineups
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart, Sagna, Mangala, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Toure, Sterling, Aguero
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno, Lucas Leiva, Can, Milner, Coutinho, Lallana, Firmino
Form
Manchester City haven’t lost in their last six games and look in clinical touch, unlike their opponents. They were unlucky to take away just a single point against Aston Villa in Remi Garde’s first game in charge. Although they battered Crystal Palace 5-1 and Norwich 2-1 they had to split points against arch-rivals Manchester United.
In the Champions League, they won both their fixtures against Sevilla. The first was a 2-1 home win at the Etihad and they came up with an even better performance away with a 3-1 win.
Last 5 matches: D-W-W-W-D (Last match: Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester City)
Liverpool have lost just one game under new boss Klopp having won three and drawn three. The Reds lost their last game at Anfield against Crystal Palace while their first win under Klopp came against Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup. Klopp’s first Premier League win came against defending champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge when Philippe Coutinho scored a delightful brace to earn his team all the three points and pile on the pressure on Jose Mourinho.
In the Europa League, Liverpool traveled to Russia to face Rubin Kazan in midweek and Klopp surprised everyone by fielding a strong side, And the Reds didn’t disappoint, winning 1-0 thanks to a brilliant goal from youngster Jordon Ibe. Liverpool then hosted Crystal Palace at Anfield, and despite putting up a good performance they were not clinical enough and fell to a late defeat.
Last 5 matches: D-W-W-W-L (Last match: Liverpool 1-2 Crystal Palace)
Key Stats
- Manchester City have won four and lost none of their last six Premier League games against Liverpool at the Etihad
- The Reds have lost just one of their last six Premier League away games (W2 D3 L1), but that came in Manchester against Manchester United
- Liverpool have scored just 13 Premier League goals, the joint-lowest tally of any Premier League season for the Reds after 12 matches
- This is Manchester City’s third best start to a Premier League season after 2011/12 (34 points) and 2012/13 (28)
- Manchester City have fired in the most shots on target for any team in the Premier League (83)
- Liverpool have the worst chance conversion rate of any team in the Premier League (10.5%)
- Philippe Coutinho has scored three goals in four Premier League appearances against City
- Only opposing goalkeeper Joe Hart (14) has kept more Premier League clean sheets in 2015 than Simon Mignolet (13)
- City have allowed their opponents just 28 shots on target this season, fewer than any other team in the Premier League
- Coutinho has scored as many goals in his last two Premier League appearances under Klopp as his final 18 under Brendan Rodgers (3)
Key Battles
Sergio Aguero vs Dejan Lovren
The injury to Sakho can be a huge loss to Liverpool as Dejan Lovren has failed to prove his worth, despite getting a number of chances. Sergio Aguero, being a world class striker, has all the skills and attributes to make life difficult for the Croatian international. Aguero has six goals so far in the league, despite the limited time he has played.
Lovren will find it difficult to keep the Argentine quiet for 90 minutes, and it will be a massive job for him to keep up with his pace and dribbling skills. Lovren must make sure he gives no space to someone as clinical as Aguero inside the penalty box.
Philippe Coutinho vs Fernandinho
Fernandinho admitted last season that his Brazilian teammate Philippe Coutinho is the best Brazilian playing in Europe. And with Coutinho’s goal scoring record against Manchester City, Fernandinho is well aware of his qualities. Coutinho has scored thrice against Manchester City since joining Liverpool from Inter, and it is a fixture he likes to dominate.
Coutinho has also been in brilliant goalscoring form recently; he scored twice against Chelsea in a 2-1 win for Liverpool and he also found the back of the net against Crystal Palace in the last game. Fernandinho must make sure he keeps Coutinho in check and doesn’t allow him to take shots from distance since it is no secret Coutinho loves to shoot from 25-30 yards and often succeeds.
Prediction
A Liverpool win at Etihad looks like a bit difficult despite Manchester City missing a few key players. Klopp has not lost a single game against Manchester City during his time at Borussia Dortmund, but that might change on Saturday afternoon with a win for Manchester City a more likely result.
Predicted score: Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool
Betting odds (bet365)
Manchester City – 4/6
Draw – 31/10
Liverpool – 9/2
