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Manchester City vs Liverpool is one of the great modern-day rivalries and Sunday’s meeting is just as keenly anticipated as ever.
City had a hard-to-fathom dip last season but came through it while champions Liverpool have had a slump of their own this term, losing six times in seven matches at one point.
But as they prepare to lock horns again, both look in good shape.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions, the latest via a 4-1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund in midweek when, shock horror, Erling Haaland only scored one of the goals.
Liverpool steadied the ship with a 2-0 home success over Aston Villa and then showed much improvement to run out deserved 1-0 winners over Real Madrid in midweek.
Those two results set Sunday’s game up perfectly and both will be very aware that any loss of points will play right into Arsenal’s hands.
If the Gunners, as expected, beat Sunderland the day before, Liverpool could end the weekend 10 points behind Mikel Arteta’s men. City would be nine back if they lose at home to Arne Slot’s men for the second straight season.
READ MORE: Are Man City or Liverpool – or both – about to leave the Premier League title race for good?
How to watch Man City vs Liverpool
Man City v Liverpool kicks off at 16.30 GMT on Sunday, November 9 at the Etihad.
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting from 4pm.
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.
Man City team news
Pep Guardiola will have to make a decision on Rodri after the Spanish star was left out of the squad against Borussia Dortmund.
The City boss said Rodri had suffered a “setback” so it seems unlikely he’ll be thrown straight back in.
Mateo Kovacic is definitely ruled out but otherwise Guardiola has a clean bill of health for Sunday’s crunch clash.
John Stones, Tijjani Reijnders and Savinho were all recalled against Dortmund, with Rayan Cherki, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias making way.
But Pep is likely to tinker again on Sunday.
Man City expected line-up
(4-1-4-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Stones, Dias, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Silva, Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Liverpool team news
Liverpool’s record signing, Alexander Isak, didn’t feature in the squad for Tuesday’s win over Real Madrid but could possibly make the bench here and be fit enough for a cameo.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and right-back Jeremie Frimpong remain sidelined but Curtis Jones is back in contention for a start.
The midfielder came off the bench against Madrid after missing the win over Aston Villa last Saturday.
In attack, Slot may have to choose between Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo for the left-sided forward role. Wirtz got the nod against Madrid and this is the type of technical game that will suit him.
In other words, there’s a strong chance Slot will keep his winning team from Tuesday night, meaning Andy Robertson continues at left-back ahead of summer signing Milos Kerkez.
Liverpool expected line-up
(4-3-3) Mamardashvili; Bradley, van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Ekitike, Wirtz
Man City vs Liverpool stats
– Man City lost both Premier League meetings with Liverpool last season, as many defeats as they’d suffered in their previous 12 against them (W4 D6).
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– Liverpool won this exact fixture 2-0 last season but haven’t won consecutive away league games against Man City since a run of three between 1987 and 1991.
– Manchester City have won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games against reigning champions (D1 L1), most recently a 4-1 victory against Liverpool at Anfield in February 2021.
– Since the start of April, Manchester City have won the most points in the Premier League (42), winning 13 of 19 games (D3 L3), while they’ve won nine of their 10 at the Etihad in that time (L1).
– Manchester City are the only team yet to score a Premier League goal via a set piece this season, with all 20 of their goals coming from open play.
– Man City’s Erling Haaland has netted 98 goals in 107 Premier League appearances – if he scores a brace in this game he will become the fastest player to 100 goals in Premier League history, with Alan Shearer the current quickest to 100 in 124 games.
– Mo Salah has nine goals and six assists against Man City in the competition – the most goal involvements against City in Premier League history.
Man City vs Liverpool predictions
Liverpool have definitely appreciated taking on two footballing teams in Aston Villa and Real Madrid after being outmuscled by more direct opponents and City clearly fall into that same purists category.
So after beating those two, can the Reds restore their confidence further and complete a brilliant week by winning at the Etihad again?
The fact that City haven’t scored from a set piece this season is good news for the Reds given that it’s been a weakness – as is the fact that Haaland has scored just one Premier League goal against Liverpool.
But City really are starting to purr at the Etihad, scoring 19 goals there in their last six fixtures (all wins).
It leads me towards a hard-fought and entertaining draw which, of course, opens the door for Arsenal even further. That’s a 14/5 shot, while City are a shade of odds-on at 10/11 and Liverpool 5/2.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored in this fixture last season and has been Liverpool’s best player this season.
He had a series of chances against Real Madrid and is value at 5/1 to find the net.
Phil Foden scored a brace against Dortmund and is worth a play at 4/1 to be the first Manchester City scorer given that Haaland hasn’t set the world on fire against Liverpool.
Manchester City Next Five Fixtures 2025/26 Season
1. vs AFC Bournemouth (H) — Sat 1 Nov 2025
2. vs Liverpool FC (H) — Sat 8 Nov 2025
3. vs Newcastle United (A) — Sat 22 Nov 2025
4. vs Leeds United (H) — Sat 29 Nov 2025
5. vs Sunderland AFC (H) — Sat 6 Dec 2025
Full Premier League 2025/26 Fixtures for Manchester City
Liverpool Next Five Fixtures 2025/26 Season
1. vs Aston Villa (H) — Sat 1 Nov 2025.
2. vs Manchester City (A) — Sat 8 Nov 2025.
3. vs Nottingham Forest (H) — Sat 22 Nov 2025.
4. vs West Ham United (A) — Sat 29 Nov 2025.
5. vs Sunderland AFC (H) — Wed 3 Dec 2025.
Full Premier League 2025/26 Fixtures for Liverpool
Tottenham v Manchester United – 12:30
Sunderland vs Arsenal – 17:30
Chelsea vs Wolves – 20:00
Manchester City vs Liverpool – 16:30
Alan Shearer reveals Man City vs Liverpool prediction
