Manchester City vs Liverpool: What time is kick-off, TV details and our prediction

Manchester City vs Liverpool: What time is kick-off, TV details and our prediction
By Anthony Hay
Apr 10, 2022

Manchester City and Liverpool meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday with just one point separating the Premier League title rivals and eight games to go.

Liverpool will leapfrog the reigning champions if they can come away from Manchester with all three points but that will be no easy feat.

The two sides have won the last four titles between them and this season’s championship will again either stay in the blue half of Manchester or go back to the red half of Liverpool.

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Follow our City vs Liverpool build-up here

Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Liverpool have claimed 337 points out of a maximum of 432, while Manchester City have managed to take 338.

Something will have to give this weekend — unless it’s a draw, of course, but both managers will be far from happy with a point considering what is at stake.


How are the two sides shaping up?

Before we even get to Sunday’s big game, Liverpool and Manchester City had to negotiate crucial Champions League quarter-final first legs.

They were both in action on Tuesday evening, with Liverpool beating Benfica 3-1 in Portugal, and City winning 1-0 against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.

City’s game with Atletico appeared more taxing due to Simeone’s love of football’s dark arts but Liverpool had a physically demanding return trip to Portugal to contend with.

Liverpool have managed to move to within just one point behind City thanks to their impeccable league form since the start of the year. Klopp’s side have won their last 10 league games to create a title race that will go right down to the wire.

City, on the other hand, have slipped up to Southampton, Tottenham and Crystal Palace to hand Liverpool a chance of winning only their second title in the Premier League era.

City were 13 points clear of Liverpool on January 16 but Klopp’s side have capitalised on their two games in hand to come within striking distance.

They are also both in contention to win the FA Cup as well as the Champions League, with the duo facing off in their semi-final at Wembley on April 16. The winner will face Chelsea or Crystal Palace.

The Athletic’s news desk are split between a Liverpool win, a Manchester City victory and a draw so we are very much sitting on the fence when it comes to a prediction.

What is the latest ahead of the game?

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are contesting the Premier League title again (Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)

Do the two sides have any major injury concerns?

Klopp has revealed he has a fully-fit squad to choose from for their Champions League first leg at Benfica.

Curtis Jones had to be replaced during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday but Klopp has since said he just had “a little swelling”.

Joel Matip had to wear a head bandage at the weekend but is in contention to play.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold is back in the fold after skipping England duty during the international break due to a hamstring injury.

Manchester City will be without key defender Ruben Dias for the next two games at the very least after he suffered a hamstring injury against Peterborough in the FA Cup on March 1.

Youngster Cole Palmer also remains sidelined.

What have the two sides competed for in recent years?

In 2017, Guardiola’s Manchester City side finished third at the end of his first season in the Premier League, with Liverpool one place behind in fourth. That season, Liverpool defeated Manchester City 1-0 in what was the managers’ first meeting in England.

They have met 13 times in all competitions since then, with Liverpool winning four, City winning four and five having ended in a draw (although one of those draws came in the Community Shield, which City won on penalties).

City edged out Liverpool in the 2018-19 title race by just one point as the two sides finished on an incredible 98 and 97 points.

A year later, Liverpool got their revenge by finishing 18 points clear of City to win their first Premier League title. The two sides didn’t go toe to toe for honours last season mainly due to key long-term injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Matip.

The two sides have returned to form this season to give fans and neutrals yet another exhilarating title race.

In Europe, Liverpool won their two-legged Champions League tussle with City 5-1 on aggregate during the quarter-final stage of the 2017-18 campaign.

What are the two managers saying?

Klopp has said “the next Premier League game is a big one” and Guardiola has warned his players that Liverpool very rarely drop points.

Guardiola said: “We know they are going to win almost all the games — hopefully not the next one — but we will try to do the same. It’s Atletico Madrid next, then Liverpool.”

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How have the two managers fared against each other?

The two sides are hard to split and so are the two managers, with both Guardiola and Klopp winning eight of their 22 meetings against each other.

Guardiola vs Klopp head to head
Guardiola winsDrawsKlopp wins
8
6
8

One of those six draws came in October when the league match at Anfield finished 2-2. Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne all got on the scoresheet.

Managers who have beaten Klopp the most
Most Defeats - KloppDefeats
Pep Guardiola
8
Felix Magath
8
Thomas Schaaf
7
Ralf Rangnick
5
Dieter Hecking
5

Managers who've beaten Guardiola most
Most Defeats - GuardiolaDefeats
Jurgen Klopp
8
Jose Mourinho
7
Mauricio Pochettino
4
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
4
Thomas Tuchel
3
Nuno Espirito Santo
3
Arsene Wenger
3
Antonio Conte
3

What time is kick-off and where can I watch it?

The game gets underway at 4:30pm UK time, which is 11:30am Eastern time and 8:30am Pacific time.

Subscribers in the UK can watch the game on Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage beginning at 4pm following the conclusion of Norwich vs Burnley.

Those in the USA can watch on the USA Network or Telemundo and Canadian viewers can live stream it on DAZN.

You can, of course, also follow all the action via our live blog.

City celebrating after winning the Premier League last season (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Who will referee the big match?

Anthony Taylor has been selected to officiate the big match between Manchester City and Liverpool this weekend.
Taylor has refereed two City games so far this season with Pep Guardiola’s side losing to Tottenham on both occasions.
He has officiated Liverpool three times this season. The Reds defeated Manchester United 5-0 and drew with Chelsea home and away while Taylor was the man in the middle.

Who do the two sides have left to play in the league?

Manchester City:

Liverpool:

  • April 10 – Man City (A)
  • TBC – Aston Villa (A)
  • April 19 – Manchester United (H)
  • April 24 – Everton (H)
  • April 30 – Newcastle (A)
  • May 7 – Tottenham (H)
  • May 15 – Southampton (A)
  • May 22 – Wolves (H)

(Photos: Getty Images)

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