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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Charlie Wilson

How Liverpool could line up against Man City in Premier League fixture

One of the most highly-anticipated games of the season will get underway this Sunday when Manchester City travel to Anfield to face Liverpool.

Manchester City come into the game coming off the back of a disappointing defeat against PSG in the Champions League, but put together a very strong performance at Stamford Bridge the previous week when they defeated Chelsea.

Liverpool have had a red hot start to the season, are undefeated in all competitions so far and only having drawn to Chelsea and Brentford, respectively. Jurgen Klopp's men had also impressed midweek with a 5-1 thumping of Porto in Portugal on Tuesday - giving them an extra day's rest.

Liverpool will be without one of their key men however, with Trent Alexander-Arnold sidelined for the game - having also been left out of Gareth Southgate's England squad.

Here's how Liverpool will likely lineup:

GK: Alisson: Alongside Brazilian teammates in City goalkeeper Ederson, the pair are seen as two of the best in the world. Alisson was recently named as a Liverpool captain.

RB: James Milner: With Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out with an injury, former City man James Milner is likely to continue at right-back. Milner, who turns 36 in a few months, performed well at the position for Liverpool in midweek, but could be seen as a position of weakness this weekend.

CB: Joel Matip: Although Liverpool now have the highly-rated Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez waiting, it is Joel Matip who has seemingly nailed down this starting spot. Seen as an underrated player amongst Liverpool fans, Matip will look to move the ball out of defence quickly to the midfield trio.

CB: Virgil van Dijk: His presence has certainly given Liverpool's back line a boost after missing the majority of last season. However, the Dutchman is still not up to speed and has had a few difficult moments this season.

LB: Andy Robertson: Liverpool's ever-present at left-back, Andy Robertson is always threat down the left-flank.

CDM: Fabinho: Fabinho is arguably Klopp's most important player when he's able to sit in the defensive midfield role. He'll be the man looking to stop the brilliance of Kevin de Bruyne.

CM: Jordan Henderson: Liverpool's captain will be the man who will look to dictate play in the centre of the park.

CM: Curtis Jones: With Thiago and Harvey Elliott ruled out, it will likely be Curtis Jones making the start in Liverpool's midfield. Jones is coming off the back of his best performance in his career with two assists and a man of the match performance against Porto.

RW: Mo Salah: The Premier League's top scorer and two-time golden boot winner Mo Salah will look to attack Joao Cancelo at left-back this weekend. However, having a right-footed player at the position may give Salah a few issues - Cancelo has shown his capabilities defensively.

ST: Roberto Firmino: Although Diogo Jota has started ahead of the Brazilian lately, Klopp will likely favour Firmino ahead of him as he has previously in the bigger games. Firmino scored twice off the bench in midweek.

LW: Sadio Mane: A slower start to the season than usual, but City fans know how dangerous Mane can be on any given game day.

Guardiola will be without some key players of his own, with midfielder Ilkay Gundogan out with a thigh injury and is not expected back until after the upcoming October international break.

Elsewhere, Oleksandr Zinchenko has a calf injury, meaning that Joao Cancelo will likely continue to figure at left-back in his place.

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