LIVERPOOL VS. MANCHESTER CITY

| Sunday, February 8th |
Premier League | Anfield
4:30PM BST/11:30AM EST

Liverpool welcome Manchester City to Anfield a week after one of their best performances of the season against Newcastle United. The Liverpool players, led by Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz, have remembered how to score goals again. The four they put past Newcastle came after a 6-0 Champions League victory against FC Qarabag.

Hopefully they can bring that same energy into their third home game in a row, this time against Pep Guardiola’s men. The Anfield faithful will be up for it, and the Reds always show up at home against Manchester City. Right now, in this inconsistent season, it’s hard to predict which Liverpool we will see. Arne Slot’s men currently sit in sixth place, while Man City are in second place and chasing leaders Arsenal.

City are coming off of a mixed week. They beat Newcastle United to make it into the Carabao Cup final. But before that, they draw 2-2 against Tottenham Hotspur, throwing away a two goal lead in the second half. Which — hey, rude. That’s our thing.

Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)

Alisson; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike

Jeremie Frimpong is definitely out of the running for this, while Joe Gomez has a chance to start on the bench and perhaps put in his customary 20 minutes before going off clutching his hamstring or something. Someone make this man a bubble. Does he need my hip? I’m middle aged and whatever the exact opposite of a professional athlete is, but I feel like it still might be an upgrade for him. Additionally, Conor Bradley, Alexander Isak, and Giovanni Leoni are all unavailable to Slot.

For Manchester City, they’ll be without Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, and Savinho.

The Managers Have Their Say

Arne Slot: “We were completely outplayed when we played them in the first half earlier in the season – for large parts, not the complete 45 minutes. It’s another moment to see where we are with the development of this team. That being said, we know the importance of the result on Sunday, but that goes for all the 20 teams that are playing in the Premier League this weekend.”

Pep Guardiola: “Always a tough opponent and a difficult place and stadium, especially with the quality of the players and the managers. Yes, it’s been tough.“

The Officials

Referee: Craig Pawson, Assistant Referee #1: Timothy Wood, Assistant Referee #2: Matt Wilkes, Fourth Official: Tim Robinson, VAR: John Brooks, VAR Assistant: Blake Antrobus

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