Champions, Manchester City travel to Liverpool in Sunday's main event which has all the makings of the game of the season so far. Liverpool are many pundits closest challengers to the Premier League crown and will be looking to vindicate many people's tags. The Reds who are after a fine start to the season enter Sunday's game on the back of two losses and a draw showing first signs of frailty in the Red corner.. However they host a Manchester City side who have lost to the Reds in each of their last three fixtures. In many ways Liverpool are Pep Guardiola and Manchester City's kryptonite. Manchester City have not enjoyed a league victory at Anfield since 2003. City enter the game having returned to some sort of last season's dominant form in recent weeks. Their last two outings versus Brighton and Hoffenheim showed glimpses of the lofty standards Pep's men have set for themselves. Kevin De Bruyne is also expected to provide his side with a timely boost with his return for a place on the substitutes bench. Prior to Liverpool's recent blip the narrative going into Sunday's clash was ever more intriguing. Although their performance levels have dipped and the front three players are off form their clash against City still bears all the hallmarks of a titanic battle between the two North-West clubs. Should Liverpool prevail with a win to hand them the initiative in the title race their credentials will have been proven. However should City depart the red half of Merseyside with all three points it is hard to envisage any challenger keeping pace with Pep's side given the levels they reached last season. It all promises to be a knockout match in front of a sellout crowd at L4 0TH.
LIVERPOOL
What is the first thing that comes to your mind with Jurgen Klopp's reds are mentioned? For the majority of neutrals it will be that front three of Salah, Firmino and Mane without question. They are crucial to the style of football Jurgen Klopp requires his team to play. Whereas the City attack is interchangeable and subject to constant rotation and more often than not the final piece of Pep's jigsaw. The Liverpool attack are the puzzle itself, they are fixed and all three to a man the first names on that Liverpool teamsheet. They have started all seven league games to date scoring nine between them. Much has been made about the dip in form of Mo Salah but that is a bit harsh when you take into account the greed of several of him teammates in outings versus Tottenham and West ham to name but a few when Salah among others were available for a one on one.
Firmino however can come in for no criticism given the selfless nature of his play for the Pool. He is the centre forward that gives Salah and Mane the stage to perform. His pressing and constant nagging of defenders sets the tone for the Liverpool press and enables the midfield and defence to play in high areas where they are least likely to be exposed for the frailties they have shown in the past. Dragging center defenders deep, the Brazilian creates one on one situations for Mane and Salah to constantly exploit. Best example in case being Spurs away where the Reds wasted a fortune of favourable chances to see off a dogged Spurs. Another reward Liverpool reap from Firmino's movement is that this vacates huge space for the Likes of Naby Keita and Gini Wijnaldum to surge into. Keita and Firmino have shown a promising understanding so far with their interchangeable movements. Should Keita begin to replicate some of the form of his past seasons at Leipzig he could prove a very shrewd acquisition for the Reds. {Crystal Palace (A) below}
Another main pattern in play then has been the in field runs of both Mane and Salah from either flank. Whilst Firmino drops deep and the deep lying Liverpool midfielder drives forward, both outside forwards make outside inside runs drawing away the opposition full backs. This gives acres of space for youngsters, Trent Alexander-Arnold (TAA) and Andrew Robertson to roam into at a moment's notice. Their deliveries from the wings have been exceptional this season with the Scottish captain showcasing a notable improvement thus far. Indeed given the selfish nature of Sadio Mane at times, Robertson was left free for a one on one with Chelsea's Kepa last Saturday with full back Cesar Azpilicueta draged in only for the Senegalese to test his luck at the spectacular and miss the target completely.
Salah and TAA have formed quite the awesome pairing in their time together. The athleticism and defensive capabilities of TAA went largely unnoticed last season which invariably gave Salah the platform to be relinquished of his defensive responsibilities and play from a much higher position contributing to a tally off 44 goals in all competitions. Contrary to popular belief and in my honest opinion I do not believe all hope is lost on Salah and I personally do not see as much of a dropoff that others have suggested. His conversion rate is below par given the three goals he has mustered thus far from eight 'big" chances out of twelve shots on target and he has missed chances he would have gobbled up last season, Chelsea being case in point. However Reds fans and players will have every hope the Egyptian King continues to pop up in these positions. It is a testament to his character that Salah does not have the tendency of other so called "big" players to go missing in big games. Given the slower tempo and increased control which Liverpool have exerted over games this far it is only natural too that Salah will not have as many one v ones given the space he has to run into is diminished. Matters off the field in particular the image rights issue with the Egyptian FA have not helped Liverpool's #11 either. Indeed given his side's start to the season when the Egyptian does hit top form again it serves to be a frightening proposition for fellow title challengers.
LAST SEASON'S GAMES
PREMIER LEAGUE - 14/01/2018 - LIVERPOOL 4 - 3 MANCHESTER CITY
It is noteworthy that given whatever the occasion it takes a lot for Jurgen Klopp to deviate from his favoured 4-3-3 high pressing and high block approach. He did not veer from it in any of the four games the Reds faced City last campaign and it was mainly instrumental in each of the three victories they enjoyed. The 4-3 win last January comprised of the versatile and energetic midfield trio of Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain with Emre Can at the base. Can has since departed while the Ox remains out on account of a knee injury. The trio gave the best illustration last season as to how sides ought to play against the City midfield with their "gegenpressing" approach. All three were first to key secondary balls from Karius and Ederson kickouts and springboarded attacks with their ball carrying abilities and drive from the middle third. Can and Wijandlum in particular were crucial in preventing Silva and De Bruyne from playing any vertical balls forcing the City duo sideways or backwards. The level of supremacy they exerted allowed the front three to play those few yards extra forward hemming in the City backline facilitating deadly counter attacking football. In the defensive transition the Pool midfield were quick to reorganzie and regain their positions quickly swarming around the man in possession reducing City's play to aimless sideways passing. Liverpool noticeably will miss the presence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this coming Sunday given the role he played in January's victory exploiting any gaps between the City midfield and defence.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL 1ST LEG - 04/04/2018 - LIVERPOOL 3 - 0 MANCHESTER CITY
Liverpool's finest triumph over City came in their 3-0 mauling over the Blues in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final clash last April. City's defeat in January was still at the forefront of Pep's mind given his change of style before their clash switching from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 with Ilkay Gundogan replacing Raheem Sterling. De Bruyne started in a deeper position to further aid Fernandinho in offering more defensive balance to the City side. Guardiola had clearly targeted TAA down Liverpool's right early on with over a third of City's first half attacks coming down their left side. This only inadvertently aided Liverpool as when they recovered possession their midfield were quick to switch the play to their left where Robertson and Mane penned back City's right and allowed Liverpool an early stranglehold over their rivals. Milner, Henderson and the Ox this time were the midfield trio and each won their individual duels with their City opponents. The tackling prowess of the two former Englishmen gave Liverpool the platform to launch pulsating counters culminating in three first half goals. Guardiola's thought process of an extra body in the midfield was entirely plausible given what had gone before but arguably their attacking play was largely one dimensional, thereby hampering their usual blistering attacking play. In the second half City stopped the wave of Red attacks switching back to their usual 4-3-3 but the damage had been done. They departed Anfield without a single shot on target having had 66% possession.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL 2ND LEG - 10/04/2018 - MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 2 LIVERPOOL
City hosted Liverpool in the return leg six days later and did little to halt the surging Liverpool tide. This time Pep's side started with an orthodox 3-4-3 formation. They took the lead early on through Gabriel Jesus' opener. in just the second minute as they began like a house on fire. At times they looked so fluid in attack, lining up nearly as a 3-2-5 in their all out attacking approach. They played around the high Liverpool press through the expertise of Ederson, De Bruyne and Fernandinho creating overloads all over the pitch. Their passing was simply electric at times. However just prior to the interval they were controversially robbed a second moments before half time with Leroy Sane being adjudged to have converted from an offside position much to the anger of his manager, Guardiola who was sent to the stands for airing his grievances.
As a result of the number of crossing positions they had created only to be thwarted by the daunting Van Dijk and Lovren they decided to switch to a 4-4-2 in the second half where things soon began to unravel. With Fernandinho moved back to the centre half position City had one less body to force the play vertically and therefore soon came unstuck and outmuscled by the Liverpool midfield three. As a result Fernandinho was forced to step out and cover some of the space vacated by the City midfield leaving oceans in behind for the Liverpool attack to exploit which is what exactly led to Salah and Liverpool's first. Firmino later netted a second from just Liverpool's second chance all night against the run of play to send Jurgen's Reds into the semi's while City and Guardiola were once more left to rue what could have been.
MANCHESTER CITY
Plain and simply put, Manchester City's record at Liverpool is abysmal. They have lost fifteen out of twenty-one top flight games at Anfield with their last victory in May 2003 with a 2-1 win thanks to a certain Nicolas Anelka. Since the 2013/14 season they have lost each fixture despite finishing above the Reds each time in the standings. This does not combine well with the fact that few managers like Jurgen Klopp have enjoyed their fair share of success over Pep Guardiola. Guardiola has enjoyed five victories compared to his foe's seven, with three of those victories in the last three outings. Pep has dubbed Klopp as "the best in the world" in creating attacking teams. A main feature of Dortmund and Liverpool's success over Pep's outfits have been the complications which arise from the possession based style they employ. Klopp is a master tactician in creating pressing traps and this was a huge factor in all nine of the goals Liverpool scored against City last year.
Guardiola will take solace from the 5-0 shattering of Liverpool just over 12 months ago. In that game Guardiola swayed from his usual 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 approach which gave City overloads all over the pitch with John Stones enjoying dominance among most others.The extra body in central defence ensured City were well protected against Liverpool's trademark counter-attacks, but just as importantly, by pushing their full-backs further forward, they were able to cause Liverpool serious problems at the other end. Guardiola's approach to counter the Liverpool pace on the break was to deploy full backs capable of matching the Reds front three stride for stride, indeed Danilo was shifted into the three man central defence. The Skyblues illustrated many different facets to their play in their record winning league campaign last year one of which was their wide play. Against Liverpool that day, Benjamin Mendy alone crossed twice as much as anyone else on the pitch combined. It is noteworthy that Mendy did not feature in any of the three defeats to Liverpool last season due to the knee injury he sustained, His presence in the City XI this Sunday therefore could be crucial to their chances of claiming all three points.
Whereas Liverpool's main attacking threat comes from their front three City's lies in the sheer superiority of their possession play better labelled as "Juego de Posicion". The goals are merely a consequence of the system Pep has brought to the North-West of England during his stint to date. Opposition full backs mainly come unstuck due to the large number of off the ball runs they have to deal with alone from the City midfield. A key feature is the width which Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling keep throughout the game. This creates space for both David Silva and Bernardo to showcase their abilities. It was the wide play of both Sane and Sterling which facilitated the playmaking genius of Kevin De Bruyne last season. The horizontal space which was offered for Messr's Silva and De Bruyne last season seemed too good to be true at times and opponents reacted at their peril usually too late.
Inextricably Silva and De Bruyne enjoy huge amounts of dominance from such advanced positions in oceans of space. This is only served greater by the fulcrum point of Sergio Aguero along with the underlapping runs of Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy in front of their wingers. City constantly ask questions of their opponents. However the greatest dilemma they pose is of the opponents full backs. Do they go towards the attacking midfielder or the winger? If they near towards the winger they leave space for Silva and De Bruyne while if he stays where he is he creates space for Sane or Sterling. It is time and time again the players off the ball that are creating space. Whereas the Liverpool movement is a bit more direct and frenetic at times, the City movement in comparison is calculated, effective and precise when utilized best. {Brighton (H) below}
Guardiola is a footballing scholar and would have learned many a lesson from each of his side's three defeats at the expense of the Reds last season. It wouldn't be a far cry to suggest that the thought of Liverpool would have caused Pep many a sleepless night the past few months. Given the fixed and at times often rigid 4-3-3 structure the Reds employ Guardiola will be keen to avoid any mistakes he has made in the past. The main case in point being the second leg of their Champions League clash were he changed his side to a 4-4-2 allowing overloads galore all over the pitch putting a huge amount of strain among his wingers and central midfielders in particular. The big question is will the Catalan be prepared to compromise his favoured 4-3-3 and controlled approach for a more direct style? I predict he will stick to his favoured 4-3-3 given the doubts concerning left back Benjamin Mendy's fitness. However if the French star is deemed matchfit this could enable City to revert to the 3-5-2 which saw them dismantle the Reds last September 5-0. Although we will not know the ultimate victor until late teatime on Sunday the outcome of the game could largely be decided by the teamsheet City's staff hand to referee Martin Atkinson and his officials an hour before kickoff.
CONCLUSION
City will be happy although to be entering Sunday's game almost under the radar given the media's indulgence surrounding their hosts. They have gone about their business in trademark City fashion and have had no hiccups to date aside form a 1-1 draw away to Wolves. In personnel they possess a mix of some of the most creative and jawdropping talents in Europe with the right blend of youth and experience. They are the bookies favourite to reclaim their Premier League crown in their bid to secure back to back titles for their first time, a tag which is entirely justified. Unlike their hosts, their season will not be defined by Sunday's game. It is a natural occurrence of their play that they will defeat a large percentage of the adversaries that take to the field against them this season. In coach, Pep Guardiola they possess one of the finest tactical minds to have graced the sport.
It is nearly unfathomable that Klopp and Liverpool have exerted such dominance over his Manchester City upon his appointment in 2016 but surely that won't carry on for much longer. Sunday's fixture gives Pep the chance to rectify the wrongs of the previous Spring. For Pep and City to date Liverpool have been nothing more than a mere stumbling block however one they will hope to surmount this coming weekend. They will look to pour cold water over any chances of the Northern rivals chances of lifting the league title come May. Given that both sides are joint at the top of the table and that hosts, Liverpool have seen off the Champions three times in their last three fixtures it would seem surprising to term this game as a must win for Klopp's side. Many of their jury's criticism is entirely justified given their tendency to drop points against "lesser" teams which City enjoy a near immaculate record against.
If the Reds are to surmount a credible title charge this season victory at home to City is essential. Defeats to Chelsea and Napoli have certainly diminished an element of the "feelgood" factor at Anfield as of earlier this season. However the Reds can bank on the support of a raucous home crowd as they aim to inflict further misery upon Pep's side. Only City better Liverpool this season for quality and quantity in personnel. The Cityzens have jumped many hurdles to date since Pep's arrival to exert mastery in the league described as the "best in the world". However one final one remains and that is Liverpool away at Anfield. The big question surrounding their trip to Anfield is not how their bus will fare the infamous Anfield greeting that no doubt awaits but how the eleven plus players draped in sky blue take to the home crowd on Sunday. Klopp v Guardiola, Van Dijk v Aguero, Firmino v Kompany, Milner v Silva, one thing is for certain the stars will be on show for the game of the season so far. However the question for many a neutral is who's will align in a bid to grab a stranglehold over the Premier League title race?
PREDICTION: 2-2 draw
**TACTICS & INFOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE COACHES VOICE & SKY SPORTS