The stand-out fixture of the weekend is undoubtedly at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City host Liverpool in an early-season six-pointer in the 2017/18 Premier League title race.
There is very little to separate the two sides so far this term, with both on identical records in terms of wins and points, so how much is there between them in terms of personnel?
We all know Pep Guardiola’s City side is a seriously expensively-assembled group of players, while Jurgen Klopp has worked wonders with some individuals in his ranks, getting the best out of players some managers might’ve missed.
Then again, they’ve also spent big this summer in an attempt to close the gap on their title rivals, so let’s see how the Reds match up with the Blues ahead of this weekend’s crunch tie…
Defence
Not either team’s strong point, let’s be honest.
We, however, have City dominating this area, with Ederson in goal and two of the three centre-backs from Guardiola’s side – Vincent Kompany and John Stones alongside Liverpool’s Joel Matip.
Dejan Lovren has his moments but just isn’t reliable enough, while goalkeepers Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius always seem close to a spectacular error of some kind.
Unfortunately for City, Kompany is now injured (again) after making a promising start to this season, so will be out of this game.
Midfield
Attempting to fit everyone in as best we can, we’ve gone for a 3-4-3 formation, and City are again hugely dominant in the midfield and wing-back area.
Kyle Walker is the obvious choice on the right-hand side after following up a fine season for Tottenham last year with a strong start at new club City, even if more than a few fans had their doubts over his £50million transfer fee.
Emre Can is the sole Liverpool midfielder to make it in after a superb start to the season, and he’s partnered by the evergreen David Silva in the centre.
At left wing-back, we’ve gone for Leroy Sane, who looks one of Europe’s brightest talents wherever he ends up playing.
Attack
Finally a bit more Red, with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah occupying two places in the front three, who’d certainly be up there with the best in Europe if they played together week in, week out.
Liverpool’s speedy wide-forwards are partnered by the prolific Sergio Aguero here, who remains one of the best strikers on the planet even if he doesn’t seem to have entirely won over Guardiola so far.
Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne are all immensely unlucky to miss out, which just goes to show the depth of quality both these clubs have up front.
Overall, it’s a pretty comfortable 7-4 to City here, with Klopp impressively putting together a Liverpool team better than the sum of its parts.
How this plays out on Saturday will certainly make for intriguing viewing…
Man City/Liverpool combined XI
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