The Reds came from behind to beat Stoke City by four goals to one last time out, with Jurgen Klopp’s charges running out comfortable winners despite being far from their best throughout Tuesday’s encounter at Anfield. That is an extremely promising sign for a team who remain in the title race despite obvious deficiencies at the back, and Klopp will be reasonably confident of his side’s chances of finishing on top of the pile as long as they do not fall any further behind current league leaders Chelsea, who remain six points clear of the Merseysiders in second place following their 12th consecutive victory against Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
Manchester City also won their most recent Premier League outing, defeating Hull City 3-0 at the KCOM Stadium last Monday. It was a third successive triumph for Pep Guardiola’s men, who have bounced back well from their back-to-back defeats by Chelsea and champions Leicester City earlier this month. They too have been plagued by defensive issues at times this term, with Guardiola’s ambitious tactics arguably compounding their lack of individual quality at the back, but few teams are as frightening going forward as City when they are in full flow. Just like their upcoming opponents, there is little margin for error as far as the rest of the campaign is concerned: City are seven points behind Chelsea and will not want that gap to get any wider.
Liverpool did hope to have Philippe Coutinho and Joel Matip available for selection following their respective injury lay-offs, but both look set to miss out on this occasion. Danny Ings is a long-term absentee but Klopp has no fresh fitness worries, with Sadio Mane ready to play his last game at Anfield before the Africa Cup of Nations next month. Simon Mignolet will probably keep his place between the sticks despite making an error against Stoke, while Daniel Sturridge will once again have to make do with a place on the substitutes’ bench.
Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho are set to return to the City starting line-up after suspension, but Vincent Kompany, John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan and Fabian Delph will all miss out. It is often difficult to predict Guardiola’s XI, particularly in the biggest matches like this, but the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona head coach may be wary about tinkering too much given that his side cannot afford to lose on Saturday. A four-man defence is more likely than three at the back, while Kevin De Bruyne could return to the No.10 role after starting as a false nine against Hull.
Taking everything into account, it could be worth putting your money behind a draw in this highly-anticipated encounter between two Premier League heavyweights. A stalemate with both teams to find the net looks like a sensible option, while Roberto Firmino could be an astute choice in the anytime goalscorer market.
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