JAKARTA – The long-awaited duel in the English Premier League this season will be presented this weekend. The match in question is Manchester City vs Liverpool.
The duel for the 32nd week of the English Premier League 2021/2021 season at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, April 10 evening WIB, was touted as an important moment in the Queen Elizabeth's highest caste football campaign.
Currently, The Citizen still occupies the top position of the standings with 73 points from 30 matches played. Meanwhile, Liverpool trailed in second place with a gap of just one point from the same number of matches.
Although City and Liverpool still have seven games left after clashing at the Etihad later, the team that comes out victorious in this match is considered to have a greater chance of winning the league than its competitors. For this reason, both teams clearly do not want to be missed in this crucial match.
Both teams come into this match with equally good capital of the age of victory in the first leg of the European Champions League this midweek. City demolished Atletico Madrid 1-0, while the Reds put one foot in the competition's semi-finals thanks to a 3-1 win over Benfica.
City as the host is clearly favored to win the match and widen the distance of points from the pursuit of the Reds. However, it should be noted that Liverpool have been impressive since the turn of the year and managed to close the gap from 14 points to just one.
Another fact is that both City and Liverpool managed to collect 38 points in the last 15 matches they played. No other team in Europe's top five leagues can score higher than that or even equal.
The two teams last met in October 2021 at Anfield in the first volume of the English Premier League this season. At that time City came back from being behind twice to end the match ending with the score as strong as 2-2.
But in the previous four meetings in the league, City were more dominant with two wins and one defeat and one draw. In those two wins, City have scored a total of eight goals and conceded just one goal, including a massive 4-0 win that occurred at the Etihad.
Ahead of Sunday's game, a blow to Pep Guardiola's squad will be the absence of Ruben Dias and Cole Palmer. Meanwhile, Kyle Walker, who missed Atletico's victory due to a suspension of playing in the Champions League, will return to the squad.
With Walker's return, Joao Cancelo was automatically pushed into left-back, while Nathan Ake could be rested. Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan can maintain his place in midfield alongside Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne.
Both will face competition from Bernardo Silva in midfield. Silva could also start up front, with Portugal stars Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling struggling to feature alongside Phil Foden and Jack Grealish in the final third.
Meanwhile, from Liverpool's side all the players are fit to play. The front line will continue to rely on Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and be supported by Luis Diaz. While in midfield, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, and Naby Keita are fit for the clash at the Etihad later.
Predicted line-up
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporter, Cancelo; Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Sterling, Foden, Grealish.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Robertson, Dijk, Matip, Alexander-Arnold; Keita, Fabinho, Thiago; Wrong, Mane, Diaz.
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