Manchester City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium in arguably the biggest match of the Premier League season so far.
The Blues head into the match a point ahead of Arne Slot’s team, who have steadied the ship after a run of six defeats in seven games in all competitions.
Both sides will have their sights set on winning the Premier League this season, and a victory for either side would close the gap down to leaders Arsenal.
Here are five things to look out for in Sunday’s showpiece occasion:
Who
starts – Savinho or Cherki?
Pep Guardiola has a big choice as to who he’s going to start on the right hand side of his attack.
Savinho started in midweek and for about half an hour, he was as good as he’s ever been in a City shirt. He was direct and dangerous, and whilst he was quieter in the second half, he was much better than we’ve seen of him lately.
But Rayan Cherki is looking extraordinarily bright at the moment. With a goal against Borussia Dortmund in midweek, as well as two assists against Bournemouth and a goal and an assist against Swansea City, the Frenchman is in fine form and surely can’t be dropped.
For me, I want to see Cherki start on the right of attack but leave Savinho as a potential option to get at Liverpool’s left back with his pace and trickery off the bench.
Haaland against Liverpool’s centre backs
Neither Ibrahima Konate or Virgil van Dijk have enjoyed a good start to the season so far, and they’re up against the most in form player in the league.
Erling Haaland has enjoyed a blistering start to the season, with 13 league goals in just 10 matches so far.
More so than any other season, his goals are coming from him racing in behind the backline and finishing past the goalkeeper one on one, and Liverpool’s high line will allow him to do this more easily.
Konate and Van Dijk are physical and good, intelligent defenders but neither can keep up with Haaland in a foot race, and both can be challenged by him physically too.
With their confidence and form not at its best point, they’ll be vulnerable against the big Norwegian striker and I expect that battle to be decisive to the game’s outcome.
Rodri not being risked
Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference, which was largely dominated by talk surrounding his 1000th game, that Rodri would be assessed in training ahead of Sunday.
He also emphasised that Rodri can’t be risked any more, not just because of the form of Nico Gonzalez in his absence but due to the three injury setbacks the 2024 Ballon D’or winner has suffered this season already.
Knocks to his knee and hamstring have meant it’s been a slow, stop start season for the 29-year-old after his ACL tear last campaign.
Thankfully, as mentioned earlier, Nico has been playing very well and City have hardly noticed Rodri’s absence, so he shouldn’t be rushed back to face the Premier League champions.
Donnarumma coming in clutch
In Gianluigi Donnarumma, City have a goalkeeper who can win them games, and this will be his first massive occasion since joining from PSG in September.
The Italian goalkeeper has kept five clean sheets in just eleven appearances so far, and has settled in to become one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League
Donnarumma isn’t as good as his predecessor Ederson with his feet, but has already proven to be a better shot stopper than the Brazilian and has won numerous goalkeeping awards for his performances last season.
Liverpool will certainly have chances so the 26-year-old will need to be at the top of his game to give City the best chance of keeping a clean sheet.
A high scoring game
Both sides have a better attack than they do defence, with this being particularly apparent for Liverpool.
Haaland, Cherki, Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremy Doku and Cody Gakpo are amongst the best attackers in the division and can cause an issue for any backline.
I’d be surprised to see either side keep a cleansheet, and I think the winner of the game will go down as who will be more clinical with their opportunities.
I expect it to be an open affair, like the 2-2 draw in April 2022, but this time I think the quality of Haaland at one end and Donnarumma at the other for City means the Blues will edge a crucial three points over the line.
