Liverpool v Man City Match Preview

Posted on November 28, 2024 by SoccerPunter

Liverpool and Manchester City have been the two most successful English clubs over the past decade and despite Man City’s rocky form, this season is no different.

So, in the wake of their first Premier League derby this year on 1 December, we bring you a preview of the forthcoming game.

Liverpool on a Bull’s Run, City in Stagflation

Liverpool, led by charismatic Jürgen Klopp for almost a decade – between 2015 and 2024 – had to go through a serious adaptation this season. This manager was both a football pundit and a rock-star communicator. He had the energy, the team management provided a reasonable budget, and some great results had been achieved with Klopp at the helm.

Although many thought that replacing Klopp’s results and overall presence was mission impossible, Arne Slot has already proven he hasn’t come here only to fill the slot (pun intended). At the moment, Liverpool is the leader of the Premier League, with an 8-point advantage over Manchester City. Even the bookies and odd analysts have taken both Slot and his expertise seriously. Ahead of their match against City, Liverpool are slight favourites against their title rivals; check this page out for more relevant markets and odds for this match.

On the other hand, the reigning Premier League champions, City, have probably been the most hyped club in the world in the last couple of years. Ever since the then-rising coaching star Josep Pep Guardiola took over the club from Manuel Pellegrini in 2016, Manchester City has been on a winning streak. Having won 6 PL titles up now – with four consecutive titles in the last four seasons – City has attracted millions of new fans globally while attracting some of the biggest football stars.

However, this season, the tide has changed a bit, and City has had more bitter pills than they hoped for.

The Champions League Warm-Up

Before they cross swords on the green, green grass of Anfield, Liverpool and Manchester City need to play their respective matches in the Champions League. There’s no group stage anymore, as it’s succeeded with a league format played for the first time this season. Therefore, the fact that Liverpool is the current leader here still doesn’t mean anything, as each club still has four games to play. However, seeing City in 10th place is something we haven’t seen in a while. By the way, Liverpool with four victories in four matches, have only one goal conceded in the UCL.

This Wednesday, Liverpool are playing their match against Real Madrid. Having won their Sunday away match against Southampton 2-3, the squad hasn’t been brimming with such confidence for a long time. That’s why Real must be very careful before they stand before the Kop.

Manchester City, on the other hand, had a tough weekend in the Premier League. It was another knockdown – or should we say more of an uppercut – as they lost by four goals without reply to Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium.

In their match against Feyenoord this week, they’ll have a chance to repair what’s broken in their system and prepare for Liverpool. Interestingly, Liverpool’s manager coached Feyenoord before he moved to Merseyside this summer.

Can the Injuries Decide?

In terms of individual qualities, Manchester City might even be the most powerful team in the world at this moment. The Ballon d’Or winner Rodri (who is also a current European champion with Spain) and PL’s top scorer Haaland (for two consecutive seasons) are only two of many players who can make a move that resolves a game. Unfortunately, the Spaniard will be out of the pitch for another month or so, due to his cruciate ligament rupture. Jeremy Doku, Ruben Dias, and Mateo Kovacic are also out of the roster for this match, Still, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, and Kevin de Bruyne are here, and any of them could decide the winner of the match.

On the other hand, Liverpool’s Salah, Szoboszlai, Van Dijk, and Alexander-Arnold are also strong individuals, but it seems that under Slot’s guidance, they’ve become an even closer-knit community. (No matter how incredible this sounds, given the tactically interesting style Klopp nurtured). Unfortunately, Diogo Jota most probably won’t be able to play this match, due to an injury, and it’s unlikely that Alisson will recover from his hamstring injury by 1 December either.

The Final Verdict

The Reds haven’t defeated The Citizens since 16 October 2022. The new infusion of power and creativity brought by Mr Slot as an upgrade to the footsteps that Jurgen Klopp left on the Anfield pitch has made Liverpool the City of autumn 2024; in other words, the whole eyes of the football world have been awe-struck by the magic performed by Salah & co. in the first part of this season. City has been having some trouble along the way, but their dominance in the last few years is literally terrifying. What’s even more important, Pep Guardiola has led his teams through more similar games than Arne Slot.

But here’s the final verdict: if Liverpool don’t lose any more players from the first lineup in their game against Real, they seem to be favourites to be celebrating come the final whistle on Sunday. The rest of us will sit back, wait, and enjoy.