Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City might not be the Premier League title race six-pointer that it once was, however, sparks are still expected to fly when these giants collide at Anfield today. Pep Guardiola’s champions need a victory to match strides with early pace-setters Arsenal while the Reds are hunting down a win that could kickstart their ailing domestic campaign.
Below, we’ve compiled a stats pack for today’s heavyweight showdown, complete with info on goals, shots, xG, corners, cards, fouls and more from the clubs’ Premier League seasons so far. Use our research to construct better bet builders today. Good luck!
Predicted Lineups
Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Arthur and Luiz Diaz are all out injured for Liverpool and that quartet have been joined on the sidelines by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip.
Ibrahima Konate didn’t train on Friday and he is a slight doubt today as a result. If the Frenchman isn’t passed fit, Liverpool will have a major problem at centre-half.
John Stones, Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker are all sidelined for Manchester City today. Sergio Gomez is expected to continue at left-back.
Phil Foden, who inked a new five-year deal with the club in midweek, should start in an attack spearheaded by Erling Haaland.
Team Stats
Liverpool have claimed just 1.25 points per game in the Premier League this season, though their stats hint that luck hasn’t been on the Reds’ side.
Liverpool’s xG for (2.46), shots for (17.2), shots on target for (6.12) and corners for (7.25) per 90 numbers indicate that they’ve played plenty of good attacking football. However, if you take Liverpool’s 9-0 win over Bournemouth as an anomalous outlier, they’ve hit just 11 goals in their eight league matches.
Arsenal are just about fending City off at the Premier League’s summit, though the champions top the pile in England for a number of other metrics.
The Cityzens have hit a staggering 3.67 goals per 90 minutes so far, while their 17.89 attempts (p/90) is the league’s highest output. City have also picked up fewer cards than any other team in the Premier League so far (5).
Player Shots and Shots on Target
Roberto Firmino (2.51 SOT p/90) doesn’t tend to write as many headlines as his teammates in attack, though the Brazilian has arguably been Liverpool’s most reliable forward this term.
Darwin Nunez (2.02 SOT p/90) has still started just three times in the Premier League, though the Uruguayan’s performances are on the up. Mohamed Salah (0.90 SOT p/90) has yet to hit his stride domestically, though his Champions League hattrick against Rangers in midweek could help to lift his confidence.
When analysing City’s shooting stats for the season, Erling Haaland’s numbers jump off the page. The Norwegian “goal yeti”, as some call him, has been hitting 4.55 shots and 2.40 shots on target per 90 since arriving in England.
Phil Foden (2.74 shots p/90), Kevin de Bruyne (2.91) and Ilkay Gundogan (2.02) are also making waves from deeper positions. Foden and de Bruyne had two attempts each against Liverpool in the Charity Shield back in July.
Player Goals and Assists
With nine goal contributions (6G, 3A) in seven appearances, Roberto Firmino has been Liverpool’s outstanding performer in the Premier League this season and the Brazilian bagged two more goals against Rangers in midweek.
Mohamed Salah has notched just twice in the Premier League, though his sensational six-minute hattrick against Rangers on Wednesday should arm him with a fresh dollop of self-belief today. Darwin Nunez also scored in Scotland and the 23-year-old hit his second league goal of the campaign against Arsenal last weekend.
Erling Haaland has buried an insane 15 goals in just nine Premier League appearances this season. Haaland was given the night off when City played in Copenhagen on Tuesday and he should be well-rested today.
Kevin de Bruyne is averaging an assist per game in the Premier League this season, while Phil Foden has a fantastic ten goal contributions (6G, 4A) in nine runouts.
Liverpool Cards
Fabinho (1.77 fouls p/90) does the majority of Liverpool’s dirty work in midfield and the ex-Monaco star will have to do his fair share of hustling and hassling against City today.
On the flanks, where City like to work on overloads, Konstantinos Tsimikas (1.29 fouls p/90) and Joe Gomez (0.83 fouls p/90) could be under real pressure. Both players are second-choices at Pool, though they will have to perform at a first-rate level against City’s attackers.
Kevin de Bruyne’s ability to slice defences apart makes him a lightning rod for bad tackles and the Belgian (fouled 1.45 times per/90) will have Liverpool’s Fabinho shadowing him today.
Phil Foden (fouled 1.23 times p/90) and Bernardo Silva (fouled 1.01 times p/90) will be relishing the prospect of facing two nervous Liverpool fullbacks today and their one-one-duels with Gomez and Tsimikas are dripping with card potential.
Match-Ups to watch
Fabinho vs Kevin de Bruyne
Joe Gomez vs Phil Foden
Konstantinos Tsimikas vs Bernardo Silva
Man City cards
Manchester City have only collected five Premier League cards in total this season, though the Cityzens’ defensive workload should be higher than normal at Anfield.
Joao Cancelo (two cards) and Rodri (2.00 fouls p/90) are generally City’s best card candidates in tougher games, while Ilkay Gundogan (1.02 cards p/90) has a tactical foul or two in his locker against teams that break quickly. 22-year-old left-back Sergio Gomez is worth keeping an eye on too when he experiences the Anfield atmosphere for the first time.
Thiago has only started three times in the Premier League for Liverpool this season, though the Spaniard’s confidence in possession means he can draw plenty of mistimed challenges. His international teammate Rodri will be watching him closely today.
If Diogo Jota (fouled 3.33 p/90) doesn’t start for Liverpool, then Roberto Firmino could be on the receiving end of some cynical Joao Cancelo tackles when the Reds try to launch counters.
As highlighted above, the inexperienced Sergio Gomez faces a massive test against Mohamed Salah today, especially following the Egyptian’s midweek hattrick. Gomez doesn’t appear on our list, though today should be the sternest challenge of his City career to date.
Match-Ups to watch
Rodri vs Thiago
Joao Cancelo vs Roberto Firmino
Sergio Gomez vs Mohamed Salah
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Don’t forget you can claim a £5 free bet from the Paddy Power homepage for this game.
Good luck if you’re putting together a bet builder for this one, but as always please remember to keep the stakes low and to keep it fun.
