Liverpool will lock horns with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening hoping to maintain their good form in the Premier League by picking all three points on the road. The Reds managed to secure a dominant 5-0 win away at Atalanta in midweek which will keep them in high spirits heading into this weekend’s showdown versus Pep Guardiola’s men.
Jurgen Klopp will opt for a 4-3-3 formation and could be tempted to bring Joel Matip back for this upcoming league clash away at Manchester. It would also be interesting to see whether Klopp chooses to go with an in-form Diogo Jota for this game ahead of Roberto Firmino, who has struggled to hit top gear so far this season.
4-3-3 Liverpool Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester City
Defence
Alisson Becker will operate in between the sticks for the reigning champions of England after producing an impressive clean sheet-winning performance versus Atalanta on Tuesday night. Joel Matip was named on the bench in midweek, so he should be available for a start in this game alongside Joe Gomez at the heart of Klopp’s defence. The centre-half pairing will have to figure out a way to restrict Man City’s Gabriel Jesus from scoring during the 90 minutes.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will be a nailed-on starter at right-back after he bagged an assist in his last outing while Andrew Robertson fills in on the other side as the left-back. Klopp would ask both of them to press high up the field and maintain a solid shape at the back when not in possession of the ball.
Nathaniel Phillips will provide cover for the centre-back positions on the bench following his man of the match-winning display against West Ham United last weekend.
Midfield
The energetic trio of Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and James Milner will probably get the nod to anchor the midfield as they try to retain possession well at the centre of the park and play some decent through passes to the front players on the counter.
Naby Keita and Curtis Jones might have to settle for a spot on the bench as they await their chance to shine as the second-half substitutes if required.
Attack
Sadio Mane will once again lineup as the left-sided winger as he looks to make plenty of overlapping runs to get into the opponent’s penalty area. Mohamed Salah will hope to weave his magic on the right. Klopp could once again opt to play the more experienced Roberto Firmino down the middle ahead of Diogo Jota, who will have to be content with a spot on the bench despite bagging a hattrick and an assist in midweek.
The Portuguese attacker will be used as an impact substitute and could serve as the plan B if things do not go to plan for Liverpool in the first half.
