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Manchester City vs Liverpool is a fixture we have all come to look forward to as the Premier League title decider, but things are a wee bit different this year.
The defending champions have lost their titan in defence, Virgil van Dijk, to an injury that will keep him out for most of the season. Jurgen Klopp's charges have the second-worst defence in the league, yet sit atop the table. 2020 has been that kind of a beast.
Manchester City were expected to bounce back after an underwhelming season by their staggering standards last year, but the Cityzens have already dropped a few points and sit 10th in this season's table. Pep Guardiola has had to deal with plenty of injuries as well.
Nevertheless, both sides are in good form coming into the game; Manchester City are unbeaten in their last eight games, and Liverpool have won their last five. Both Manchester City and Liverpool have also had excellent wins in the UEFA Champions League; with City defeating Olympiacos 3-0 and the Reds hammering Atalanta 5-0.
It's all set to be a riveting contest with a plethora of superstars on display. Here are five players from either team who could make the difference:
#5 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
12 games - four wins, two draws and six losses - is how Raheem Sterling has fared against his former employers ever since he left the city of Liverpool for neighbouring Manchester. However, the Englishman has only scored twice against the Reds and has assisted three goals.
Perhaps, as much as he would be loathe to admit it, the baying of the Kop every time he touches the ball at Anfield plays heavy on Sterling's mind. He's obviously much, much better than the aforementioned record suggests.
Indeed, with the crowd absent the last time Manchester City met Liverpool, Sterling was imperious; he absolutely eviscerated Joe Gomez as Guardiola's men ran out 4-0 winners. Sterling won a penalty, scored a goal and forced an own goal in a virtuoso performance. He would love to do an encore when he comes up against Gomez, this time without Virgil van Dijk to protect the latter.
#4 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Pep Guardiola has been at Manchester City for five seasons now. In this period, only three players have scored more than Mohamed Salah has against the Cityzens, with the Egyptian netting four times and assisting twice in the nine games he's played against the Sky Blues.
Salah is likely to come up against one of Joao Cancelo or Nathan Ake as he makes his trademark runs forward. He certainly has the quality to run rings around Manchester City, although Salah has been visibly frustrated with teammates on occasion this season.
Nevertheless, Salah is in fine form in the Premier League this season, netting seven goals in as many games; so, one wouldn't bet against the 28-year-old netting against Manchester City once again.
#3 Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Manchester City's defence has turned impregnable ever since Ruben Dias arrived at the club. The Portuguese defender has played six games for Manchester City so far, keeping three clean sheets and only conceding thrice during this period. Unsurprisingly, City are unbeaten in these six games (won four, drawn twice).
Prior to Dias' arrival, Manchester City conceded seven goals in four games - which show the impact he has had on Pep Guardiola's side - notwithstanding the player's ability on the ball. With City's attack uncharacteristically misfiring this season, their defence becomes all the more important as they seek to keep the Premier League's second-most prolific scorers quiet.
Dias will face up to one of Diogo Jota or Roberto Firmino, although given how high Manchester City's full-backs push up the pitch, he may have to deal with Sadio Mane too. The 23-year-old had fine games against Arsenal and Marseille, but Liverpool will be a step up. He will need to be at his best to ensure that Manchester City get a positive result from this game.
#2 Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
It's not often that one gets to witness a Pep Guardiola side struggling to score goals - only six teams have scored fewer than Manchester City in the 2020-21 Premier League season. That is because of the absence of both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus through injuries.
Ferran Torres has performed quite well in the duo's absence, scoring three times in four games, but he is not a centre-forward. Jesus returned for Manchester City in the Champions League and to the surprise of no one, he scored.
The Brazilian has faced off against Liverpool four times, scoring thrice. With Liverpool's backline looking vulnerable in the absence of Virgil Van Dijk, Jesus could prosper at the Etihad.
#1 Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
Roberto Firmino has been involved in ten goals against Manchester City for Liverpool in the 14 games he's been a part of.
City are one of Firmino's favourite opponents, with Arsenal the only other team to face the brunt of the Brazilian's goal involvements. Thus it will not be a surprise to see Jurgen Klopp start Firmino in attack.
Yet, there's a catch: the emergence of Diogo Jota.
Diogo Jota has had a relatively short Liverpool career, but he's already impressed Reds fans so much that they are clamouring for the Portuguese player to start in place of Firmino against Manchester City.
Jota has already outscored Firmino this year despite playing way fewer games and minutes than the Brazilian.
He has looked dangerous even while coming on as a substitute, which he is likely to at the Etihad Stadium. Jota has never scored against Manchester City, but the Etihad would be a good place to start for the Portuguese international.
