Liverpool vs Manchester City

Sunday’s Premier League action closes out with a mouth-watering encounter between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield.

Last season’s busted quadruple pursuit seems to have taken its toll, with Liverpool experiencing their worst eight-match Premier League start since 2012/13 (10 points – W2, D4, L2). The ‘Reds’ suffered a 3-2 defeat at Arsenal last weekend, extending their winless league streak to three games (D2, L1), and are already miles away from the title pace. On the bright side, Mohamed Salah’s quick-fire hat-trick inspired Liverpool to an overwhelming 7-1 victory at Rangers in midweek Champions League action, bolstering their spirits ahead of this clash. Jurgen Klopp’s men could make history this weekend. After netting 2+ goals in their last four competitive meetings with Man City (W2, D2), Liverpool could become the first-ever club to score at least twice in five consecutive matches against sides managed by Pep Guardiola.

In the meantime, Guardiola’s decision to make numerous changes to his starting line-up backfired on him, as Manchester City could only manage a scoreless Champions League draw at Copenhagen a few days ago. Back to domestic proceedings, the ‘Cityzens’ will be looking to maintain an almost perfect start to their Premier League title defence as they head into this encounter as one of just two English sides yet to lose a single top-flight game this term (W7, D2). Too hot to handle in the front third, the back-to-back Premier League champions have bagged a league-high 33 goals thus far, averaging 4.33 goals across their last three league outings (W3). It’s also worth noting that Man City’s fast starts have seen them break the deadlock on more occasions (8) than any other Premier League team this term.