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Everything to Know about Liverpool vs. Manchester City: Schedule, How to Watch
Pep Guardiola's club needs a win desperately to end a six-game winless streak and to avoid falling further behind the first-place Reds
The chase for the Premier League title may well come down to a game just over one third of the way through the season.
Tilts between Liverpool and Manchester City are always entertaining, and sometimes epic, but this Sunday’s showdown between the two Premier League powerhouses has added importance.
Manchester City, widely favored to extend their dynasty with a fifth straight title entering the season, are now in the midst of a six-game winless streak in all competitions. Manager Pep Guardiola and his players have never experienced this level of adversity. The club clearly has no answers for the void left by the injury to their best player, Rodri, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner.
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A loss to Liverpool on Sunday would bury the club an almost insurmountable 11 points from the top of the table. The "Cityzens" are too talented to go down meekly.
The question is if anyone can beat Liverpool, which has lost just once this season right now.
Manager Arne Slot has his team playing at a high level in what was supposed to be a transition year after the departure of his legendary predecessor Jurgen Klopp. A win on Sunday will go a long way towards forging a new legend.
Where and When to Watch Liverpool vs. Manchester City
The match kicks off Sunday, December 1 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at Anfield in Liverpool, England, and will be broadcast on the USA Network and Telemundo.
Manchester City News: Epic Collapse in Champions League Play Doesn't Help Confidence
The glass-is-half full version of Tuesday’s tie against Feyenoord in Champions League play is that Manchester City finally halted their five-game losing streak across all competitions.
But blowing a 3-0 lead after the 75-minute mark is enough to have fans emptying their glasses and ordering another round. The late collapse before a horrified home crowd broke a record in Championship League history.
Okay, maybe the glass is kind of empty.
Count Gardiola among the most frustrated by this downward spiral during which the once-dominant defense has given up 17 goals in six games. “I don’t know if it’s a mental thing,” Guardiola said at the post-game press conference. “The game was fine at 3-0, playing good, but then we concede a lot of goals because we’re not stable.”
Not the best momentum to carry into Anfield for a must-win game on Sunday.
Liverpool News: Mohamed Salah "more out than in" on re-signing with The Reds
It’s a good thing the present is so rosy for Liverpool, because there is an increasing chance that the Reds will be without club icon Mohamed Salah in the not-so-distant future.
The 32-year-old Egyptian striker’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season, setting the possibility that the team’s leading scorer will be leaving Anfield. Salah, who is the Premier League second-leading scorer with 10 goals this season, has been rumored to be considering a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.
But according to Salah, himself, he wants to remain with the club that has been his home since 2017.
“Well, we are almost in December, and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay at the club,” Salah told reporters after scoring two goals in Liverpool’s 3-2 win over Southampton on Sunday. “I’m probably more out than in.”
Slot downplayed Salah’s comments, saying it was not a distraction to the player or the club.
The team will have similar decisions to make on club captain Virgil van Dijk and star midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose contracts also expire in the summer.
Who Are the Liverpool and Manchester City Stars to Watch
Manchester City: Though the end result was a horrific disappointment, the silver lining on the mushroom cloud for Manchester City fans Tuesday is that striker Erling Haaland scored two of the club’s goals. The Sky Blues hope that’s the sign of a breakout to come for the best goal-scorer in the sport amid a cold spell that has coincided with the team’s downward spiral.
There is optimism that midfielder Kevin Du Bruyne may be recovered enough from his injury to start on Sunday. The 33-year-old Belgian is the beating heart of Manchester City’s midfield and his arrival in 2015 coincided with the start of the club’s dynasty six Premier League championships ago. He may not be the attacking player he once was, but he is still a smooth passer and playmaker.
Liverpool: Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch is one of the main reasons that Liverpool is at the top of the standings. A solid passer and a tenacious defender, the 27-year-old Dutchman is the only midfielder in Europe’s major leagues to have 30-plus interceptions and 30-plus tackles this season, according to Opta Analytics.
The ageless Salah is still the dominant offensive presence in the Liverpool Starting XI, but Luis Diaz has the potential to be just as dynamic. He is second on the club in goals with five, but has been mired in a scoring slump in league play since late September. The 27-year-old Colombian winger is due for another breakout.
No. 1 goalkeeper Alisson may be back for this pivotal match after missing out on seven games due to injury. He is one of the best in the world at his position, though Liverpool also has a talented backup in Caoimhin Kelleher.
