Premier League 2019-20: Liverpool vs Manchester City combined XI

Liverpool amassed 97 points last season, only to find Manchester City pip them to the Premier League title by one point. The title race last season was so intense that the lead at the top of the table changed hands 25 times.

This season it looks like the title race will again be between the same two teams. The other teams in the league are way behind the top 2 in terms of quality and consistency.

After 11 games of the new season of the Premier League, Liverpool have opened up a 6-point lead over the reigning champions Manchester City. But even though Jurgen Klopp's men have started this season better than their rivals, one thing is clear: just like last season, Liverpool and Man City will again go toe-to-toe in the title race.

With Manchester City set to face Liverpool at Anfield this Sunday, the race promises to get even spicier. Pep Guardiola and Klopp must already be losing sleep over this fixture, and we can be sure the intensity on the pitch will be extremely high.

But what if you are allowed to pick a combined XI from both squads? Imagine Kevin de Bruyne linking up play with Mohamed Salah, or Sadio Mane and Sergio Aguero ripping apart defenses together. That would be some nightmare for the defenders!

With both teams possessing quality squads, there are a few tough decisions to be made. Alisson or Ederson, Fabinho or Fernandinho, Aguero or Firmino, Sane or Mane, Sterling or Salah? There are of course a few no-brainers too, and a few players missing out due to injury including Aymeric Laporte, Leroy Sane and Joel Matip.

On that note, let's have a look at who makes the cut for our combined XI:

Goalkeeper - Alisson Becker

Both Liverpool and City are blessed with outstanding Brazilian goalkeepers in Alisson Becker and Ederson Moraes. It is a very tough job to separate the two of them.

Alisson won the Premier League Golden Glove award, having kept 21 clean sheets. And Ederson was not too far behind with 20 clean sheets of his own.

Ederson is regarded as a better distributor of balls, and he even has an assist to his name in the Premier League - something that his compatriot is yet to achieve. But Alisson is considered to be a better goalkeeper overall and has time and again made game-changing saves for Liverpool.

Alisson was also named FIFA's best goalkeeper of the year for 2019, so with the slimmest of margins we have to put him in goal ahead of City's Ederson.

Liverpool open the scoring in this one as it is Liverpool 1 City 0.

Centre Backs - Virgil van Dijk and John Stones

This is not a first choice defensive pair for this combined XI, as Aymeric Laporte would have easily walked into the side in place of John Stones. But Laporte is out injured, as is Joel Matip. So we have picked our third choice player to partner the ever reliable Virgil van Dijk.

After arriving from Southampton for a then world record £75 million fee, Van Dijk has single-handedly transformed Liverpool's defense into one of the best in Europe. And Stones is the best available option from the remaining fit players.

The Liverpool pair of Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez have struggled for consistency this season. Man City do not have many more options to offer in this area of the field either, as Nicholas Otamendi has had a horror season so far.

So it's Liverpool 2 Man City 1.

Full Backs - Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson

Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold

There is not much competition for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson in their respective positions, as both have become vital components of Jurgen Klopp's team. Benjamin Mendy of City has spent most of the last few months on the treatment table, while Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko don't quite come close to the standards set by the Liverpool duo.

Alexander-Arnold racked up 12 assists during the last Premier League campaign, earning him a name in the Guinness World Records 2020 for the most league assists by a defender in a single season. Robertson was not to be left behind either as he racked up 11 assists during the last campaign.

With Liverpool dominating the defensive half of the pitch so far, it will be interesting to see if the Citizens can turn it around in midfield and attack. As of now, it's Liverpool 4 Man City 1.

Midfielders - Fabinho, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva

Fabinho has been regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world ever since he has settled into Klopp's team, whereas there is no doubting the exceptional quality of Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva. We can only imagine the quality of crosses from the right flank with Trent Alexander-Arnold and De Bruyne whipping ball after ball into the box.

Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson do an incredible job for their team too, but David Silva's eye for a pass is second to none. Man City's Bernardo Silva is probably the unlucky one to miss out here as he enjoyed a breakthrough season last year and has started the new season on fire.

So finally City outnumber Liverpool in one part of the field to make it Liverpool 5 Man City 3 with three places still up for grabs.

Forwards - Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Sadio Mane

Now this will likely spark a lot debate and polarize opinions among fans, but Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Sadio Mane have been on a different level altogether this season.

There is no doubt that Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are world-class players, but such is the attacking quality of both Liverpool and Man City that picking only three players out of so many options is a very tough decision. Even the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez would walk into most XIs, but it's tough to break into this one.

So the front three of Sterling, Aguero and Mane is what we will settle with. And even though two City boys manage to break into our front three, Mane seems to have scored the decisive winner in this tie; it's Liverpool 6 Man City 5. Close, isn't it?

Manager - Jurgen Klopp

If picking this combined XI seems a tough task, then consider making a choice between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Both are outstanding managers, both are great tacticians, and both are equally capable.

Guardiola has won back to back Premier League titles with Manchester City and with the backing of his rich Saudi owners can lay claim to have managed arguably the best Premier League side ever.

Klopp on the other hand took over the reins of Liverpool at a time when they were languishing in mid-table. He has transformed the side into a truly world-class unit, and tasted his first silverware as Liverpool manager last season by winning the Champions League.

It's a really tough choice to make, but if one is to be picked, then Klopp would probably edge out Guardiola by the slimmest of margins for the way he carries his heart on his sleeve and inspires his team to success.

And so we have our combined XI of Liverpool and Manchester City. It's a traditional 4-3-3 formation that Klopp has deployed so successfully at Liverpool.

This XI is the stuff of dreams, with little room for weakness. It would take some side to beat the XI we have picked here. And with the quality of Salah, Firmino, Jesus and Mahrez on the bench to influence the game, there will hardly be any team that can come close to this one.

Edited by Musab Abid