Liverpool’s visit to Manchester City on Saturday could be a pivotal match in terms of shaping the current Premier League title race.
And with the lunchtime kickoff following the November international break, it may also be a race against time for both teams to field their strongest possible squads after the wear and tear some players bring back from national team duty.
For league-leading City (9-2-1, 28 points), that includes leading scorer Erling Haaland, who suffered an ankle injury playing 45 minutes for Norway in a 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands on Nov. 16 and then missed a match against Scotland.
Haaland leads the Premier League with 13 goals after winning the competition’s golden boot last year, and City manager Pep Guardiola is hopeful the attacker can contribute Saturday to help maintain the team’s hold on the top spot in the table.
“He trained yesterday with some niggles,” Guardiola said of Haaland on Friday. “Today we are in the last training, hopefully he can play a part.”
Despite criticizing the PL’s scheduling earlier this month, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says his team isn’t dealing with any new health issues following the break.
So everyone other than long-term absentees should be available, including veteran attacker Mohamed Salah, who played all 180 minutes of Egypt’s World Cup qualifiers and scored four times in a 6-0 win over Djibouti.
While Arsenal were City’s primary league challenger last season, Liverpool have been the most consistent threat to the Cityzens’ dominance in recent seasons.
But Salah — who has 10 league goals — is one of only a few lingering faces from the Reds squad that last won the title in 2019-20 to interrupt City’s dynastic hold.
And while Liverpool (8-1-3, 27 points) have rebounded from a disappointing fifth-place finish last season to play their way into second entering the weekend, Klopp says these sides’ history doesn’t necessarily have an impact on Saturday.
“Whatever happened last year, or the year before that, is just a memory, nothing else, so we have to be ready for tomorrow,” Klopp said. “And that is what we try to be and if we are, if we can be really uncomfortable for them, then we have a chance.”
City won both meetings on their own patch last season, once in the league and once in a League Cup fourth-round match.
However, Liverpool have enjoyed plenty of success in this fixture in recent years, with these teams each winning four times and drawing three during their past 11 meetings.
–Field Level Media