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Manchester City face Liverpool in an epic clash this week which might go a long way in deciding the ultimate winner of the Premier League this season.
Liverpool have 54 points from 20 matches while City have 47 from the same number of matches. Should Liverpool win on Friday, they could well have ensured their first title win since 1990. However, if City go on to beat Liverpool, they would be firmly back in the title race.
Both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola would have their fingers crossed before such an important match-up. Guardiola, however, would be more desperate for a win as his team is trailing the group leaders by 7 points.
Here, we take a look at three tactical factors which might determine the fate of the match:
1. Liverpool’s front 3 would fancy their chances against the two City centre-backs
Guardiola had played Kyle Walker as a third centre-back the last time these two sides met, at Anfield, in order to counter the press of the Liverpool front 3. But he is unlikely to do so this week as City would be more eager for a win this time around.
Therefore, Liverpool’s front 3 of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino would fancy their chances against City’s centre-backs Aymeric Laporte and Vincent Kompany.
Salah has mostly played as a centre-forward of late and could trouble the City centre-backs considerably. He has scored 16 goals in 27 matches for Liverpool this season and would hope to increase his tally against City.
Firmino is also fresh from the hat-trick he scored against Arsenal last week. He would be a perennial threat inside the penalty box, while Mane would also look to dribble past the City defenders frequently. The quick passes played by Liverpool in the final third should also trouble the City defenders a lot.
However, should Guardiola decide to play 3 centre-backs and opt for a 3-5-2 formation, it would be a different ball-game altogether. That would mean City have an additional man in their defensive third, and could deal with the Liverpool forwards more comfortably.
It would also mean that the wing-backs would also be able to fall back to increase numbers in the defence if the need for the same arises.
2. An intense midfield battle
It promises to be an intense battle between two very strong midfields. City should have Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva and David Silva in their starting line-up, and might also include Riyad Mahrez as a wing-forward who would cut in frequently.
On the other hand, Liverpool are likely to play Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri in their 3 man midfield. It should be a battle between the creativity and artistry of the City midfielders and the strength and athleticism of their Liverpool counterparts.
Both Firmino and Shaqiri would have to fall back to the midfield frequently to prevent the City players from playing their free-flowing, passing football. Fabinho might want to give special attention to David Silva, who is the talisman in the City midfield.
Bernardo Silva is likely to play box-to-box and Fernandinho might have difficulty in negotiating with Shaqiri’s pace. Overall, it should be an enjoyable battle in the midfield.
3. Liverpool fullbacks cannot afford to go into overlaps too often
Both the Liverpool full-backs, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, like to go into overlaps frequently. And the City wingers like Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Mahrez would try to exploit the space left behind by them.
Sterling has the tendency of going near the goal-line by dribbling past the opposition defenders and then deliver the vital cross to the likes of Sergio Aguero. He already has 10 goals and 7 assists for City this season.
Both Sane and Mahrez possess great pace and can destroy a defence within a few seconds.
The Liverpool full-backs would have to be on guard against such threats and stay in their own half as much as possible. Liverpool’s defensive midfielders should also be able to give covers to the overlapping full-backs as much as possible, and they cannot afford to allow the City wingers to have free sway inside their own half.
