Liverpool v Manchester City – Head To Head

City take on Liverpool on Sunday in a battle between the league’s top two, with City leading Liverpool on goal difference. A win for either side will put them three points clear of the other, and some are billing it as a title decider…in October…with over 30 games left to play! Let’s take a look at the stats behind this fixture, and if you’re of a nervous disposition, close your browser…there’s nothing here to see.

The blues have visited Anfield 116 times in various league and competitions, with the home side winning 63 to City’s 18.

The blues lost their first five visits to Liverpool, the first coming in 1893 when Liverpool won 3-1. City’s first point on Merseyside didn’t arrive until February 1904, when they secured a 2-2 draw, with their first win coming two years later, 1-0 in March 1906. The blues have also lost their last four in all competitions at Anfield, scoring just three in those games.

In the Premier League era, City have lost 14 of the 20 matches played in this fixture, with the blues winning just once. However, City have failed to score in eight of those matches, but are yet to keep a clean sheet. In fact, the last goalless draw in this fixture came way back in August 1986, so expect goals.

There have been a few high scoring games between the two sides, with the highest coming in October 1906, when Liverpool beat City 5-4. City’s biggest win at Liverpool came in October 1929, when the blues won 6-1, although they almost emulated that by winning 5-0 in Liverpool in March 1937. Their heaviest defeat came in October 1995, when the blues were hammered 6-0 by the Reds.

The blues have lost the last four at Anfield, with the Reds keeping three clean sheets. City’s longest losing streak is seven matches, achieved on two occasions – between March 1917 and March 1923 and April 1974 to March 1980.

City’s best run at Liverpool came between March 1908 and September 1912, when the blues won three out of five visits, drawing the other two.

The two teams have met in October on eight occasions, with Liverpool winning five and City three, however all three of City’s wins were by a considerable margin – 6-1 in 1929, 4-0 in 1940 and 5-0 in 1945.

City’s last win at Anfield came in 2003, when Nicolas Anelka scored twice as the blues came from behind to win 2-1. That was City’s first win at Anfield since 1981, and before that, February 1956, so it’s safe to say that Anfield isn’t a favoured place to visit. But this is a new generation of blues, can they victor at place that has been the death of so many previous teams? We will find out on Sunday.