Liverpool will be entering familiar and confident territory when they make their way to the Etihad Stadium to face the mighty Manchester City headed by Pep Guardiola. While it may sound strange but by now Liverpool’s apparent comfort in playing against the top guns in the League is quite well known and Klopp and his gegenpressers will look to prolong their excellent record against the Top 5 this season. The reasons are unknown but we invariably see two different Liverpool sides when they line up to play the big guns and when they face up against the relatively smaller teams.
After their easy win over Arsenal, the concern and the jittery nature of the players was evident before they had to face Burnley at home. And the concerns seemed justified initially as Burnley ruled the roost and looked the far better side, even going ahead at one point. But the Reds dug in and despite a scrappy display managed to eventually come away with 3 points.
City will again be a different ball game and the Sky Blues will be hurting after the shock and embarrassing Champions League exit at the hands of Monaco despite scoring 6 goals. Now, it is not rocket science to figure out which area of the team Klopp will be targeting and with both sides boasting of some serious ammunition up front, a cracker of a contest is awaited.
PREDICTED LIVERPOOL XI VS MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
Mignolet will be in goal and will expect to be kept fairly busy by a hurting Aguero and Co.
Clyne will be in the right-back slot and will have to be in top form to contain the rampaging Leroy Sane. In the central defensive position, Matip will be the sure shot starter while Klopp will have to decide between Lovren and Klavan. Lovren is back from injury and will be desperate for a game.
James Milner will be in the left-back slot and will face off against his ex-employers.
MIDFIELD
The midfield will still be missing Henderson’s services but Can will look to carry on his improvement in form. Lallana will be flanking him on one side while Wijnaldum, who scored in the reverse fixture, will be on the other side.
ATTACK
Coutinho will start on the left flank and needs to deliver against one of his favourite opponents. Firmino is likely to be fit in time while Sadio Mane will start on the right-wing and will be more than a handful for the likes of Clichy and Kolarov.
