Manchester City vs Liverpool: How Kyle Walker can stop Sadio Mane and help Pep Guardiola’s side to victory
TWO of the Premier League’s five unbeaten sides come head to head on Saturday when Manchester City host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Both teams go into the match having won two and drawn one of their first three league matches this season.
They will hope to continue the momentum from before the international break, with Liverpool thrashing Arsenal 4-0 last time out, while City’s last Premier League game saw a late Raheem Sterling winner against Bournemouth.
City haven’t beaten the Reds in their last five league meetings, with the corresponding fixture last year being a 1-1 draw.
Kick-off is at 12.30pm and the match is being shown on Sky Sports.
Our friends at Football Whispers have all you need to know ahead of the match.
Key battle: Mane vs Walker
Liverpool’s front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino have been unstoppable this season.
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They completely destroyed Arsenal’s defence, and while City may also be known for their attack, Liverpool have been more prolific this season, with eight goals in three games.
Pep Guardiola’s side have managed five.
There have always been question marks about City’s defence under the former Barcelona boss and the game on Saturday will be a huge test.
Mane will play on the left, and it’s no coincidence most of Liverpool’s attacks (41 per cent) come down that side.
If Kyle Walker lets Mane past him too much, there’s a risk of him being let loose on Vincent Kompany.
But if the England international manages to keep him quiet, it could be crucial to keeping Liverpool out of the game.
Potential match-winners
Both sides are full of potential match-winners, with the attacking quality on show the envy of most other Premier League sides.
Mane has three goals already this season, while Salah and Firmino have two. Liverpool’s only other scorer is Daniel Sturridge with one.
The suspended Raheem Sterling leads the way for Manchester City, with two goals.
Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are the only other two players to score for Guardiola’s side.
Liverpool fans will be hoping Aguero’s poor form against them continues too.
The Argentine has faced Liverpool 16 times but has only scored five goals against them.
He has ten against Chelsea and Tottenham, having played against both sides on fewer occasions.
How the teams are likely to be set up
Manchester City will be without Sterling, who was shown a second yellow card for an over-exuberant celebration after scoring a late winner against Bournemouth.
Ilkay Gundogan is also likely to miss the match through his long-term injury.
Guardiola switched to four at the back to face Bournemouth, but could return to the 3-5-2 he used against Brighton and Everton after Walker’s return from suspension.
Liverpool are unlikely to switch from their tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation, although Simon Mignolet should return in goal after being rested for the match against Arsenal.
Nathaniel Clyne is still out, and Andrew Robertson is back in contention at left-back after missing the last match to see the birth of his child.
Key stats
The two sides have faced each other 206 times in all competitions previously, with Liverpool winning 101, Manchester City just 53. There have been 52 draws.
No player has higher percentage of his team’s goals than Mane in the Premier League this season – 38 per cent.
Manchester City have the highest average possession rate of any team in Europe’s top five leagues with 65.6 per cent.
Guardiola’s side’s passing completion rate of 86.7 per cent is the best in the Premier League, along with Tottenham .
No team has had more shots on target in the Premier League per game than Liverpool’s 9.3.
That’s considerably more than Manchester United, who are in second with 6.7.