Liverpool – Manchester City

A lot of questions will be answered on Sunday when Liverpool welcome the champion Manchester City in the big derby of the 12th round of the English Premier League. This match is looking really important for both teams, who are approaching it from different positions. Let’s see.

Liverpool are leading the Premier League standings with 31 points, being 6 points ahead of Manchester City. How you can see, a win on Sunday would increase their lead to 9 points, which would be a huge step forward for them in the title race. In this way the Reds will increase the psychological advantage they have right now as well.

In 11 games played so far in the league, Liverpool are still unbeaten – they have 10 wins and one draw. They have never looked more ready to win the Premier League and everyone at the Anfield could sense this. Last season the club triumphed in the Champions League, but now the title in England is the big priority.

During the week Liverpool achieved a 2-1 win over Genk in the Champions League with Jurgen Klopp showing that he has the game against Man City in mind. The German manager left Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Andrew Robertson on the bench, giving them a rest before the derby on Sunday. They will play with fresher legs against the Cityzens.

For Manchester City losing this game is out of questions, because being 9 points behind Liverpool would not be acceptable. During the week Pep Guardiola’s boys also had a game in the Champions League, doing a 1-1 draw during their visit to Atalanta in Italy.

Right now Guardiola’s biggest problem is related to the goalkeeper position, because Ederson got injured during the game in Bergamo. It’s still not clear if he’s going to be fit to play against Liverpool. If he’s not ready, Guardiola will have to use the backup Claudio Bravo.

In conclusion we can say that for Manchester City it’s always difficult to play at the Anfield and we don’t expect different on Sunday. Liverpool are aware that a win against the champions will move them closer to the title, although it’s still very early to say that. It’s going to be an exciting game.