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This weekend Liverpool will host Manchester City at Anfield. This is going to be a match between two sides with no defeats in the Premier League this season. Both teams have 19 points from 7 matches, but Manchester City are the leaders due to a better goal difference.
Derby matches between Liverpool and Manchester City are a real joy to watch especially with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp at the helm of these clubs. Last season, Manchester City and Liverpool played 4 matches - 2 of them were in the Premier League, and the other 2 were in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Liverpool won 3 of those 4 matches. It looks like Guardiola has a solution for every other team except Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's gegenpress causes big problems for Guardiola's Tiki-Taka.
However, Manchester City go into this match with full confidence because they are in much better form than Liverpool. I think it's time for Guardiola to break his negative record against Jurgen Klopp. Here are three reasons why Manchester City will beat Liverpool this weekend at Anfield.
#1 Liverpool is in a bad form, and they look tired
Liverpool go into this match with 0 wins from the last three matches in all competitions. They lost against Chelsea (1-2) in the Carabao Cup at Anfield, and last weekend they had another clash in London, they were able to get a point only thanks to a late strike+ from Daniel Sturridge.
On Wednesday, they lost to a much better Napoli in the Champions League. This was the worst performance that could have happened before such a massive game on Sunday. It's obvious that they are in bad form.
They have had some very difficult matches, probably because Klopp wasn't making so many changes, now his squad looks very tired and exhausted. On the other hand, Manchester City has had 4 wins from the last four matches in all competitions, and it seems like they are finding their best form. They definitely have the psychological advantage for this match.
#2 City's midfield will easily run over Liverpool's midfield
In the 20th minute of the match against Napoli, Naby Keita got injured, so Jordan Henderson came in. After that match, Klopp said Keita's injury isn't that bad and he could be available for Sunday's clash. However, it's hard to believe that Keita will start this derby, and that leaves Liverpool to their standard midfield trio: Henderson, Milner and Gini Wijnaldum.
Henderson and Wijnaldum can't play together in the same midfield because they are too similar in terms of backwards/sideways passing, and they both lack creativity. When they are both on the pitch, they seem to occupy the same positions and do the same stuff.
Liverpool miss the attacking element Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave them last season from midfield. Oxlade-Chamberlain played in last three Liverpool wins against Manchester City, and his pace in those matches was crucial.
With Milner, Henderson, and Wijnaldum, Liverpool don't have any attacking quality in the midfield to help the front 3. Right now the service to the final third is non-existent, and because of that, Liverpool will have big problems against the best midfield in the league.
#3 Liverpool's front three aren't near their peak levels
As mentioned in the previous page, Liverpool's front three players have a very bad link up with the midfield players. Because of that, they have had a very slow start to the season and they don't look as potent as they did last season.
For example, in 7 Premier League matches this season, Mohamed Salah has scored only 3 goals, and provided 1 assist. They look very tired, and that is mostly Jurgen Klopp's error because he makes very little changes in his starting lineup.
Many fans think it's time to see Xherdan Shaqiri in Salah's place, but I am sure Klopp will stick with Mane, Salah, and Firmino against Manchester City.
I think Liverpool's midfield will totally lose the fight in the middle of the park, and thus Liverpool's attack will be separated from the rest of the team. Because of that, they won't be as dangerous as they can be.
