Manchester City are back on the road again in the Premier League this weekend.
Following on from last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and their midweek 3-3 draw with Feyenoord in the Champions League, City will be taking on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
This will be Pep Guardiola’s first meeting with Arne Slot since he took the reins from Jurgen Klopp in charge of the Merseyside club.
After the Feyenoord draw, Ilkay Gundogan said City must beat Liverpool or else they could well find themselves out of the race for the Premier League title.
Looking ahead to this game, which could be make-or-break in terms of the title race, one pundit and former Premier League star has shared his early thoughts on how it could pan out for both sides.
Paul Merson drops big prediction for Man City vs Liverpool
In his latest column for Sportskeeda where he predicted the results for all of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, Paul Merson gave this early preview of City’s match with Liverpool.
He said: “It’s quite unreal, isn’t it? Manchester City are eight points behind Liverpool now and if they lose on Sunday, that’s an 11-point gap between them. Even if City end up winning 15 games in a row after that, they would still end up behind Liverpool!
“To put things into perspective, that would be 28 games played, 10 more to go, City going on one of the best runs ever in Premier League history and still being behind.
“Liverpool have to lose four games out of the next 15 if City are to get ahead of them in this case. That explains how big this match is for City now.
“After this game, there is also the possibility of City even dropping out of the top four. It’s unbelievable how everything can change so much in the Premier League this weekend.
“I don’t trust Manchester City after what happened against Feyenoord. I have never seen anything like that and I can’t back them anymore.
“If Rodri was there, City wouldn’t have lost that game. I also think Julian Alvarez is a big miss for them now. Don’t get me wrong, they had to sell him for that kind of money but that is now coming back to bite them.
“Liverpool are slowly starting to run away with the league now and City cannot catch them if the hosts win at Anfield.
“I’m finding it hard to make a case for City after what happened against Feyenoord. They will score but I can’t see how Liverpool will lose at Anfield. City are so low in confidence at the moment and it does not augur well for them. Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City.”
Kyle Walker says Liverpool have a ‘spark’ under Arne Slot
Merson isn’t the only person to share his thoughts about this upcoming showdown at Anfield, as Kyle Walker shared his verdict on Liverpool, saying this about the Reds and how they’ve fared so far this season ahead of Sunday’s match against City.
He said: “I just feel that Liverpool are flying at the minute, and they’ve got a new lease of life under the new manager.
“They’re playing some great football, and it’s going to be one of them games that you look forward to. I think every year we always look forward to playing against Liverpool, but especially this year, we’ve got a point to prove against them.
“If you win against Liverpool at any point in the season. It’s always a statement win because they’re always going to be right up there.
“But I think especially this year, where they’ve set off like a house on fire, they’re playing some great football under the new manager.
“He’s brought a little bit of the spark back. I don’t think [Jurgen] Klopp ever lost the spark, but I think playing for a new manager [helps].”
| Premier League 2024/25 | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets |
| Liverpool | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 6 |
| Manchester City | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 2 |
With City only winning two games at Anfield in the Premier League era, as well as heading into this latest game in a run of abysmal form, it’s understandable why Merson has backed the Reds to pick up a win against the champions on this occasion.
Moving forward, with all of that taken on board, Sunday’s showdown at Anfield against Liverpool is undoubtedly City’s biggest game of the campaign so far.
Therefore, this would be the ideal time for them to put their recent run of poor results behind them and secure a much-needed victory.
