Man City vs Liverpool: EPL Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Fantasy XI

The Premier League returns at the weekend following the international fixture with a cracking fixture between Man City vs Liverpool at Saturday lunchtime.

Match Details:

• Location: Manchester, England
• Stadium: Etihad Stadium
• Date: Saturday 1 April
• Kick-off Time: 12:30 BST / 07:30 ET / 04:30 PT
• Referee: Simon Hooper
• VAR: Matthew Wilkes

Man City vs Liverpool: Match Preview:

Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool head into this match on Saturday looking to complete a Premier League double over Manchester City for the first time since 2015-16, having defeated Pep Guardiola's side back in October at Anfield.

Rivalries resumed this weekend 👀#ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/SnvgA7EZv4

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 31, 2023

They'll have to improve their recent form away at Man City, however, having won just one of their last 13 Premier League trips to the Etihad Stadium (L7 D5) – that win coming back in November 2015.

The Reds will be buoyed by the fact that they have won on 23 occasions against a reigning Premier League champion across the history of the competition, but the last time that they won both home and away against the champions of the previous campaign was back in 2013-14, when they defeated Manchester United with Brendan Rodgers in charge.

Liverpool's next three matches 😯

Man City (A)
Chelsea (A)
Arsenal (H) pic.twitter.com/2dvhiU7J0T

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 31, 2023

This is the 28th meeting in all competitions as managers between Guardiola and Klopp – with Guardiola facing Klopp more times than any other manager in his top-flight career. Similarly, Klopp has faced Guardiola more times in his managerial career than any other manager. Guardiola has lost more often against Klopp than any other manager during his career. Of his 97 defeats as a coach in senior football (excluding penalty shootouts), 11 have come against the German.

Team News:

Man City:

Erling Haaland had to pull out of Norway's squad during the international break and his availability has been described as 'touch and go' by father Alfie.

Phil Foden had his appendix removed and dropped out of the England squad as a result. He'll be out until May, but otherwise Guardiola has plenty of options to choose from in his squad.

Liverpool:

Luis Diaz recently returned to training for Liverpool, having missed around five months of action with a knee injury. The Colombia international may be able to feature on the bench here, but the game will come too soon for Thiago Alcantara.

A big week ahead 💪 pic.twitter.com/gABDeHFpBb

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 31, 2023

Stefan Bajcetic is out for the rest of the season and Darwin Nunez and Kostas Tsimikas will need to be assessed.

Man City vs Liverpool: Head to Head:

• Liverpool have an excellent historical record against Manchester City and have won 108 out of the 223 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Manchester City's 59 victories.
• Manchester City have lost only one of their last 13 home games against Liverpool in the Premier League, with their previous such defeat coming by a 4-1 margin in 2015.
• Liverpool are looking to complete a league double over Manchester City for only the second time in their last 17 Premier League campaigns.

Predicted Line-ups:

Manchester City predicted lineup (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Bernardo Silva, Haaland, Grealish.

Liverpool predicted lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.

MCI vs LIV: Fantasy XI

Ederson; Walker, Konate, Van Dijk,Robertson; De Bruyne, Rodri,Fabinho, Salah, Gakpo,Haaland.