Manchester City won 12 direct matches and Liverpool won 27 matches

Liverpool are aiming to earn a statement victory over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City as they continue their surge for the 2024/25 title.

The Reds stumbled in their hunt for the crown on Wednesday evening after their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa and are looking nervously over their shoulder towards chasers Arsenal. Sunday’s duel with the Cityzens is followed by a midweek encounter with Newcastle United in what could be a season-defining few days for Arne Slot’s side.

Liverpool boast an unconvincing record at the Etihad Stadium and haven’t tasted victory on the blue half of Manchester since 2015 in the Premier League. However, they will be deemed favourites this weekend considering the patchy form of Pep Guardiola’s side.

City served up another sub-par performance in Europe midweek as they exited the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid. Defeat on Sunday would see Liverpool go 20 points above them at the summit, with Guardiola’s men not even guaranteed a top four berth come the end of the campaign.

Erling Haaland was an unused substitute against Madrid on Wednesday having come off injured in the latter stages of last weekend’s 4-0 win over Newcastle. During his pre-match press conference, Guardiola confirmed that the Norwegian remains a doubt for Sunday but could feature.

John Stones will play no part, however, and the English defender is set for two to three months on the sidelines. He injured his thigh after just six minutes of the defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu and could need surgery to correct the issue. The 30-year-old joins Rodri, Manuel Akanji and Oscar Bobb on the list of long-term absentees.

Guardiola was coy on Kevin De Bruyne’s lack of involvement in recent matches, with the Belgian not featuring at all against Newcastle and Madrid. He appears unlikely to come into the starting XI against Liverpool.

Man City predicted lineup vs Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Foden, Marmoush, Savinho; Haaland.

Cody Gakpo has missed the last two matches through a knock sustained in the Merseyside derby but Slot has revealed that his compatriot has a chance of featuring against City. However, Conor Bradley will miss out after coming off injured against Villa midweek.

The Northern Irishman was only a second-half substitute himself before being withdrawn and he now joins Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton in the treatment room. Bradley is also unlikely to feature against Newcastle next Wednesday.

Slot was critical of Darwin Nunez after the striker’s glaring miss against Villa and the Uruguayan is incredibly unlikely to start against City. Diogo Jota should lead the line, with Luis Diaz likely to return to the XI in place of Curtis Jones.

Liverpool predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota.