Verdict: Both teams to score
Best odds: 11/4
Bookmaker: 888sport
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have the opportunity to hand former assistant Mikel Arteta a major boost in the Premier League title race when they host Arne Slot’s Liverpool in a massive showdown at the Etihad on Sunday.
Despite a significant 17-point gap between the two clubs in the league standings, the reigning champions have started to rediscover their best form at home, at least in domestic competition, while the current leaders don’t look quite as good as they did in previous stages of the campaign.
Manchester City
The dream of securing a fifth consecutive title may be all but over, barring the most remarkable Premier League comeback the country has ever seen. However, Man City can still aim to derail Liverpool’s charge while simultaneously strengthening their bid for a routine Champions League qualification.
With Real Madrid emerging victorious in their latest chapter of a long-standing rivalry—winning 6-3 on aggregate in their knockout round playoff – City’s only remaining path to Europe’s elite competition is through a top-four Premier League finish. The dazzling Kylian Mbappe stole the show with a hat-trick in the second leg.
An early Champions League exit means City are now solely competing in the Premier League and FA Cup for the remainder of the season, along with this summer’s revamped Club World Cup. Even so, Guardiola’s side has rediscovered its familiar form in the domestic campaign.
While Mbappe claimed the match ball in midweek, Omar Marmoush earned one for himself last weekend with a hat-trick in City’s emphatic 4-0 rout of top-four hopefuls Newcastle United – helping the team maintain their grip on fourth place heading into gameweek 26.
The Citizens have now won their last three home Premier League games, netting at least three goals in each outing. Moreover, no team in the division boasts a better conversion rate in 2025 than their 24.7%, a significant rise from the meager 9.6% recorded between August and December.
Team News
City fans held their breath when talisman Erling Haaland jarred his knee in the closing moments of the victory over Newcastle. After being limited to a spectator role at the Bernabeu, Guardiola could not provide any assurances on his availability for the weekend.
One player certain to miss out is John Stones, who may require surgery for the quadriceps injury he suffered just eight minutes into the midweek defeat to Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Manuel Akanji (thigh), Oscar Bobb (calf), and Rodri (ACL) remain sidelined.
Regardless of whether Haaland is passed fit, hat-trick hero Marmoush will be eager to make his mark in attack, and Ederson has the chance to become the first goalkeeper in Premier League history to record an assist in three consecutive matches.
Liverpool
It may be a hushed observation, but the champions might have caught their challengers at the ideal moment, as signs of vulnerability have started to emerge for an otherwise relentless Liverpool side, judging by their last four outings.
The Reds’ 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers was far from convincing, and a midweek visit to Aston Villa—where Slot’s men had the opportunity to establish a 10-point lead over Arsenal – ended in a 2-2 draw, a point salvaged by a deflected Trent Alexander-Arnold equalizer.
Should Arsenal dispatch London rivals West Ham United as expected, the Gunners will be just five points adrift of Liverpool with the same number of matches played before Slot’s side faces Man City. They head to the Etihad with just one win from their last four fixtures across all competitions.
The league leaders have also managed only two wins in their last eight away matches in all competitions and are winless in their last three. However, that record does not paint the full picture, as Slot’s men remain unbeaten on the road in the 2024/25 Premier League season and have found the net in all 14 away games so far.
Liverpool also had little trouble dispatching Man City in a routine 2-0 home triumph earlier this season, a game remembered for Guardiola’s six-finger gesture. That same number also represents how many times Liverpool have completed the league double over the defending champions, most recently achieving the feat against Chelsea in 2010/11. It’s also the number of times Liverpool have been crowned champions of Europe.
Team News
Having missed Liverpool’s last two Premier League games with a knock, Cody Gakpo remains a major doubt for the trip to Man City, while Joe Gomez (thigh) and Tyler Morton (shoulder) are also ruled out.
Slot is “99.9%” certain that Conor Bradley will be unavailable as well after seemingly tweaking his hamstring in the draw with Villa. However, the visitors are otherwise in good shape for this high-stakes clash, where Mohamed Salah aims to carve out yet another piece of history.
The dynamic Egyptian has been directly involved in 13 Premier League goals against Man City—scoring eight and assisting five—trailing only Steven Gerrard (14) for the most goal contributions against the Citizens in the competition. He will obviously be geared up to try and equal the Reds’ icon, maybe even break it.
Conclusion
Be it fatigue, pressure, or a mix of both, Slot’s men have slightly lost their rhythm in recent weeks, and with Man City rediscovering their scoring touch at home, they are well-positioned to capitalize to some extent.
Haaland’s fitness could be a decisive factor in whether the champions can take something from Sunday’s high-profile showdown, but the Norwegian never had it easy against Virgil van Dijk, and he isn’t likely to have it this time either.
Be that as it may, Man City could snatch a worthy point in this game and force Liverpool to glance nervously over their shoulder at the top of the table.
Verdict: Both teams to score
Best odds: 11/4
Bookmaker: 888sport
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