Giants meeting with changed signs
On Sunday evening, the game of the games awaits us once again in England. The duel between champions and runners-up. The eternal feud Jürgen Klopp against Pep Guardiola. Nevertheless, the omens are different this time. The reason is the extremely different seasons of the two teams. While the Citizens are already back on track and are currently second, just behind Arsenal, the Reds are lagging miles behind their own expectations.
The fact that the two best English football club teams may not necessarily meet on equal terms is also underlined by the odds before the Liverpool vs Manchester City match. The odds are in the region of 1.90 for the away win, which clearly puts Guardiola’s team in the favourites’ role, especially considering that the giant clash will take place at Anfield Road on Sunday at 5:30 pm.
The fact that the home bonus has only limited significance in this pairing anyway becomes clear when looking at the statistics. In the last four encounters in the league, the hosts have never won. This time, too, there is much to suggest that the Klopp team will not leave the pitch as winners.
Incidentally, it would be the sixth successive meeting against City that the Reds have failed to win. There has never been a longer dry spell against this opponent. Regardless of the outcome of the game, a prediction on a few goals should also be considered between Liverpool and Manchester City.
Liverpool – Statistics & current form
Didi Hamann and Jürgen Klopp are unlikely to become friends in this lifetime. The former Germany international was harshly critical of his ex-club Liverpool this week, also referring to what he saw as a somewhat fractured relationship between coach and team. The polarising TV pundit thus counted Kloppo out in public. The latter, in turn, could only smile wearily at his compatriot’s interpretations and “expertise”.
In fact, however, Hamann is right on certain points. The Reds of the 2022/23 season no longer have much in common with the Reds of previous seasons. And this despite the fact that the personnel has hardly changed. Instead, there are other reasons for the current crisis. The LFC stars look tired, burnt out and unfocused. All characteristics that make the execution of Klopp’s power football almost impossible.
Does Liverpool get involved in a lively exchange of blows?
Defensively, Virgil van Dijk and Co. can’t get a foot on the ground at all at the moment. In the last two games against Brighton (3:3) and at Arsenal (1:3) they conceded three goals each. Napoli also scored four times against the 2020 champions in the Champions League. Three clean sheets in twelve competitive games are, of course, far too few for the Scousers’ standards.
Nevertheless, the defensive vulnerability combined with the high-quality attack, which scored seven goals at Glasgow Rangers in the Champions League on Wednesday, has scored in eleven of twelve competitive matches and even averages well over two goals per game, naturally provides good clues for betting on many goals in Sunday night’s top match between Liverpool and Manchester City. In more than half of all matches this season, the bet on the over 3.5 would have gone through.
Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the Reds have always scored at least twice in the past four direct duels against the Citizens and have won more often than any other club against the respective reigning champions in the Premier League. If Mo Salah is on top form, as he often is against City, a point for Klopp’s side is definitely not out of the question. Salah has scored in four of the past five home games against the Sky Blues, including the most recent three games at Anfield Road. Artur, Luis Diaz, Alexander-Arnold, Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain are all out injured.
Predicted Liverpool line-up:
Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Nunez, Jota
Last matches played by Liverpool:
Champions League Grp. A
13/10/2022 – Rangers 1 – 7 Liverpool FC
Premier League
09/10/2022 – Arsenal FC 3 – 2 Liverpool FC
Champions League Grp. A
05/10/2022 – Liverpool FC 2 – 0 Rangers
Premier League
01/10/2022 – Liverpool FC 3 – 3 Brighton
Champions League Grp. A
14/09/2022 – Liverpool FC 2 – 1 Ajax Amsterdam
Manchester City – Statistics & current form
Although it is unusual to find Manchester City in second rather than first place in the standings at this stage of the season, it already seems clear that coach Pep Guardiola’s side are the team to beat to become English champions in 2022/23 as well. Incidentally, the Citizens are the only club currently unbeaten at league level. They have won seven games and drawn two.
Apart from that, the Sky Blues have the best attack in the Premier League as well as the most stable defence. The last three league games were all victorious. In total, they have 21 consecutive PL matches without defeat. None of the last 22 matches was lost away from home and only one defeat in the last 37 (!) matches in England’s top flight round off the outstanding record.
A lot of goals are part of City’s good style
With these impressive numbers in mind, we are far from making a prediction against Guardiola’s eleven between Liverpool and Manchester City. Instead, we’d rather focus on the number of goals. In as many as six of the nine PL games involving the reigning champions, a bet on the over 3.5 would have gone through. The Sky Blues also scored at least three goals six times. In addition, they have scored eleven goals in four Champions League matches, which further underpins their offensive potency.
We are therefore convinced that there will be a lively exchange between these two teams and that the spectators at Anfield Road will see a few goals.
This is also supported by Erling Haaland, who has already scored 15 goals in nine matches. Since mid-August, the Norwegian has not left the pitch in a City shirt without scoring, and he was given a rest during the week in the 0-0 draw in Copenhagen. However, Haaland will definitely return to the starting eleven this weekend. If you want to bet on the ex-Dortmund player scoring the first goal of the top match, you can get attractive odds of 3.90 between Liverpool and Manchester City. Stones, Phillips and Walker are not available.
Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson; Cancelo, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Last matches played by Manchester City:
Champions League Grp. G
11/10/2022 – FC Copenhagen 0 – 0 Manchester City
Premier League
08/10/2022 – Manchester City 4 – 0 Southampton
Champions League Grp. G
06/10/2022 – Manchester City 5 – 0 FC Copenhagen
Premier League
02/10/2022 – Manchester City 6 – 3 Manchester United
17/09/2022 – Wolverhampton 0 – 3 Manchester City
Liverpool – Manchester City Direct Comparison / H2H Record
For the 169th time, the two English football giants will meet in the country’s top division. With 79 victories, Liverpool lead the direct comparison by a fairly clear margin, although the majority of these successes come from the somewhat more distant past. Most recently, it has been City who have made their mark on this pairing.
The Reds have not won against the Sky Blues in five Premier League meetings (three draws, two defeats). However, of the last 19 games at Anfield, the Citizens have only won one. Six draws and twelve defeats are a clear indicator that betting on the three-way market is perhaps a better idea.
Liverpool – Manchester City Tip
It feels like a reunion of great football stars. But we are far from friendly chats or a nice get-together on late Sunday afternoon at Anfield Road. Instead, important points are at stake for both teams. LFC want to put an end to the ongoing crisis with an exclamation mark; the Citizens want to stay on top of Arsenal.
So we expect two offensively oriented and high-quality teams, which in their own way stand for extreme power football. We therefore think it is almost impossible that there will be few goals in this duel. This is also borne out by the statistics, because in eight of the last ten encounters between Liverpool and Manchester City, a bet on the over 3.5 would have paid off.
In our opinion, it therefore makes the most sense to bet on at least four goals in the course of the match before the clash between Liverpool and Manchester City.
