Man City vs Liverpool preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Manchester City will hope to avoid back-to-back losses against Liverpool when they host the league leaders at the Etihad Stadium on 23rd February.

Arne Slot has quickly put his stamp on Liverpool, shaping the team in his style after eight years of Guardiola-Klopp dominance in English football.

He became the seventh Liverpool manager to avoid defeat in his first game against a defending champion in the Premier League since Roy Evans lost 1-0 to Manchester United in the 1993-94 campaign.

Liverpool made a strong statement in their pursuit of a first Premier League title in five years by securing a 2-0 victory over City at Anfield in the first leg.

This match was a one-sided contest. Liverpool registered 18 shots compared to City’s eight—the highest number of attempts City have allowed this season and the first time they’ve been outshot in the 2024-25 campaign.

Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock in the first half, sneaking in at the back post to finish off a precise cross from Mohamed Salah, who had acres of space on the right.

Salah doubled the lead after the break, converting a penalty following Stefan Ortega’s foul on Luis Díaz inside the box. The spot kick resulted from a disastrous mix-up in City’s defence, which looked shaky throughout. The fact that this match ended only 2-0 was surprising.

Guardiola has now lost more games against Tottenham and Liverpool (both nine) than he has lost against any other team in his managerial career. His six wins in 22 games against the Reds are his lowest win rate against any side he has faced more than five times across all competitions.

The Reds are now pushing to take a step further in their title challenge and will be hoping for a win against the Cityzens, which could potentially hand Guardiola his tenth loss against them, the most he has lost against any other team.

The Cityzens have not been at their best this season and seem to struggle against tough opponents. Their wins against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest are their only victories against teams in the top eight this season. They’ve failed to win against Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa, who are all in the top eight of the Premier League table.

They were beginning to gather momentum after enduring a poor run of form from October to December last year. Although they may be disappointed by their 2-2 draw against Brentford, where they let a two-goal lead slip, it was the only game in the domestic league City did not win since the turn of the year until last Sunday.

However, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side took them to the cleaners with a completely dominant display, condemning the defending champions to a 5-1 defeat and inflicting pain on the travelling fans with Man City tickets.

City have won eight Premier League titles in total, and six of them after overcoming at least an 8-point deficit to the leaders. They have shown in the past they are capable of overhauling significant gaps. But this time feels so much different.

Man City vs. Liverpool match details

• Date: Sunday, 23rd February, 2025
• Location: Manchester, England
• Venue: Etihad Stadium
• Kick-off time: 04:30 PM GMT
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Manchester City vs Liverpool tickets from the club websites. If they are sold out, you can also try a trusted reseller such as Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Liverpool hold the upper hand in their rivalry with City, winning 109 of their 217 previous meetings. City have managed 60 victories, while 58 encounters have ended in draws.

• Additionally, just two of the last 32 top-flight clashes between these sides have seen the visiting team emerge victorious—the other being Liverpool’s identical triumph at the Etihad in 2015, which marked Klopp’s first encounter with City as Reds boss.

• After two consecutive draws against United and Nottingham Forest, the Reds have now gone on a three-game winning streak in the Premier League.

• The Merseyside club have conceded only one goal in their last three Premier League games while netting eight goals.

• City have lost only one game in the league since the beginning of the year, which was the loss against Arsenal. Of the five games they’ve played this year, Guardiola’s side have won three, recorded one draw, and lost one game.

• A win against City could see Liverpool become the team to defeat Guardiola the most in his managerial career, with the current record being held at nine games by the Reds and Tottenham.

Team news

Enduring a disastrous debut, City’s new midfield addition, Nico Gonzalez, had to be withdrawn in the first half of Saturday’s FA Cup win, shortly after being outmuscled before Leyton Orient’s peculiar opening goal.

Guardiola couldn’t provide an immediate update on the Spaniard’s condition post-match, but the midfielder is now expected to face a spell on the sidelines.

Oscar Bobb remains sidelined with a leg injury that has kept him out of action since the Community Shield game against United in August.

Nathan Ake has been struggling with an incessant muscle injury, and it is unclear if he’ll recover in time for the game against Liverpool.

Goalkeeper Ederson was not in the FA Cup squad that featured against Leyton Orient on Saturday. The Brazilian shot-stopper was initially expected to be in the lineup after recovering from injury, but it appears he’s not match ready, or the manager was taking precautionary measures.

Rodri remains the club’s longest absentee, but his addition to the Champions League squad raises optimism about his potential return before the end of the season.

Kevin De Bruyne, who returned to City’s starting lineup in the FA Cup, will hope to retain his place against Liverpool, while Jeremy Doku is yet to recover from his injury at the time of writing.

Trent Alexander-Arnold missed Liverpool’s shock defeat to championship bottom-of-the-table side Plymouth Argyle on Sunday. The England international remains optimistic about a possible return to action, and it remains to be seen if he’ll be fit on time for the trip to the Etihad Stadium.

England U21 midfielder Tyler Morton is also sidelined for this clash after Arne Slot confirmed he’ll be out for ‘four weeks or more’ with a shoulder injury.

Youngster Conor Bradley was not in the squad that lost to Plymouth, with James McConnell starting at right-back.

In his absence, Joe Gomez could deputise in the right-back role if both Bradley and Alexander-Arnold are unavailable.

Predicted starting lineup

Man City predicted starting lineup:

Ederson; Nunes, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Savinho; Haaland.

Liverpool predicted starting lineup:

Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz.

Prediction

This fixture has been one of the most highly anticipated matches in the Premier League due to its intensity, high tempo, end-to-end action, and tactical manoeuvres by the managers.

Although only a few encounters between these two sides have been true title deciders—often played with the league already settled before or after—this upcoming fixture will all but determine the fate of both teams, especially City, who risk missing out on the top four.

Both teams will be at their best to give their teams the best possible outcome, but City would be extra motivated playing in front of their home crowd and will hope to avoid back-to-back losses against the Reds.

We’re predicting a 2-2 draw.