Comments and predictions for Man City vs Liverpool: Sharp counterattacks

Potentially giving former assistant Mikel Arteta a huge advantage in the Premier League title race, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City take on Arne Slot's Liverpool in a huge clash at the Etihad on Sunday.

England's last two champions are separated by 17 points in the Premier League table, but the reigning champions are slowly finding their form at home, at least domestically.

Latest Man City vs Liverpool squad information

Manchester City fans were left heartbroken when Erling Haaland suffered a knee injury in the final minutes of the win over Newcastle. After being forced to sit out the game at the Bernabeu, Guardiola is unsure whether he will be available for the weekend.

John Stones is a definite absentee, who may need surgery on a quadriceps injury sustained just eight minutes into the midweek defeat to Real Madrid, while Manuel Akanji (thigh), Oscar Bobb (calf) and Rodri (anterior cruciate ligament) are all still out.

Whether Haaland is allowed to play or not, hat-trick hero Marmoush is likely to be given a chance up front. At the back, Ederson could make history as the first goalkeeper to provide three consecutive Premier League assists.

For Liverpool, Cody Gakpo remains a big question mark after missing the last two Premier League games with a minor injury. Joe Gomez (thigh) and Tyler Morton (shoulder) are definitely not available.

Manager Slot is also "99.9 per cent" confident that Conor Bradley will be out after suffering a hamstring strain in the draw with Aston Villa. However, apart from those concerns, Liverpool have a near-full squad for the clash, with Mohamed Salah aiming for another historic milestone.

The Egyptian has been directly involved in 13 Premier League goals against Man City - eight goals and five assists. Only Steven Gerrard (14) has been involved in more against Man City in the competition's history.

Latest Man City vs Liverpool expected lineup

Manchester City:

Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Gonzalez; Savinho, Silva, Foden, Marmoush; Haaland

Liverpool:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota

Latest Man City vs Liverpool football prediction

The dream of winning a fifth consecutive title is probably over, barring one of the most miraculous comebacks in Premier League history. However, Man City can still drag Liverpool down with them and cement their place in next season's Champions League in the usual way.

With Real Madrid winning the last meeting between the two sides, beating Man City 6-3 on aggregate in the knockout stages, Guardiola's side's only chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League is to finish in the top four of the Premier League. Kylian Mbappe shone with a hat-trick in the return leg, leaving Man City to fight on two remaining fronts: the Premier League and FA Cup, alongside the new Club World Cup this summer.

Despite being eliminated from the Champions League, Man City are gradually regaining their familiar image in the domestic league. While Mbappe shone in midweek, last weekend Omar Marmoush also had a hat-trick as Man City crushed Newcastle United 4-0 - an important victory that helped them maintain fourth place ahead of Round 26.

The Citizens have won each of their last three Premier League home games, scoring at least three goals in each. They also have the best chance conversion rate in the league in 2025 at 24.7%, a significant improvement on the 9.6% between August and December.

To put it mildly, Man City may have caught Liverpool at the perfect time, when the first signs of the team's decline were starting to appear. Looking at the last four matches, it can be seen that Liverpool are no longer as dominant as before.

The Reds' 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was far from convincing, and in midweek's trip to Aston Villa - where they had the chance to extend their lead over Arsenal to 10 points - Slot's side could only manage a 2-2 draw thanks to Trent Alexander-Arnold's equaliser after a deflection.

If Arsenal beat West Ham United as predicted, the Gunners will be just five points behind Liverpool with the same number of games played before Slot's side face Man City. They travel to the Etihad in unimpressive form, having won just one of their last four games in all competitions.

Liverpool have also won just two of their last eight away games and none of their last three. However, on closer inspection, they are yet to lose an away game in the Premier League in 2024-25 and have scored in all 14 of those games.

Liverpool also had no trouble beating Man City 2-0 at home in the first leg this season – a game in which Guardiola’s six-finger gesture became a hot topic. The number also represents the number of times Liverpool have completed a double against the reigning Premier League champions, most recently against Chelsea in the 2010-11 season.

Latest Man City vs Liverpool score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the following results for the Man City vs Liverpool match:

• Sportsmole: Man City 1-1 Liverpool

• WhoScore: Man City 2-1 Liverpool
• Our prediction: Man City 1-1 Liverpool

When and where to watch Man City vs Liverpool live?

To watch live the Man City vs Liverpool match in the Premier League taking place at 11:30 p.m. on February 23, viewers can watch on K+ Sport, K+PM or online sports channels. Wishing viewers happy moments of watching football.

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