Liverpool v Manchester City - The Opposition

Manchester City travel to Anfield on Sunday, looking to build on their victory on Mersey red soil for the first time since 2003.

A second half brace from Ilkay Gundogan, and goals from Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden secured an incredible 4-1 victory over the then reigning champions, a result that could have been greater had Gundo not missed a first half penalty.

Liverpool struggled to mount a sustainable title bid last season, finishing in third place, 17 points behind the blues, who brought the Premier League crown back to Manchester. Liverpool will no doubt be looking for revenge on both counts when the two face each other on Sunday.

Form

Liverpool are unbeaten so far in all competitions. In the Premier League, the have won 4 of their 6 matches played so far, recording all three points against Norwich (0-3), Burnley (2-0), Leeds (0-3) and Crystal Palace (3-0), while their two draws have come at home to Chelsea (1-1) and away at new boys Brentford (3-3).

In the League Cup, Liverpool have progress by beating Norwich at Carrow Road (0-3) and face a trip to Preston in the next round.

They have won both their Champions League fixtures to date, beating AC Milan 3-2 at Anfield, before hammering Porto 5-1 in Portugal.

Danger men

Despite rumours throughout the summer, Liverpool have kept hold of their front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, while also having Diogo Jota backing up their front three.

Salah is once again out in front on the goalscoring charts, having scored 8 goals in 8 matches. The Egyptian striker has attempted the most shots for Liverpool with 27 and has a goal conversion rate of 30%. The most lethal of the three is Brazilian Firmino. The striker has scored 3 goals from just 4 shots, giving him a goal conversion rate of 75%.

Salah is also leading the assist table with 2 so far. He has created 18 chances and completed 226 passes from 279 attempted, giving him a pass accuracy of 81%.

If he plays against City, Curtis Jones will be one to watch. Jones has only played 5 matches but has created 3 chances and provided 2 assists. From 187 attempted passes, he has completed 168, a pass accuracy of 90%, the highest in the Liverpool team.

The next down from Curtis in terms of passes and accuracy comes from the back. Virgil van Djik has played 7 matches, and made 480 attempted passes, with 429 completed, giving him a pass accuracy of 89%. He has also provided 1 assist.

Who’s the boss?

Jurgen Norbert Klopp is still at the Liverpool helm, a position he has held since 2015. Klopp has an impressive win ratio with Liverpool. He has presided over 327 matches, winning 195 and losing just 57, giving him a win ratio of 59%

Last time out

Last season, City recorded a stunning 4-1 win at Anfield, their first win since Nicolas Anelka scored a brace to send the match 2-1 in City’s favour.