Man City 2-1 Liverpool: Leroy Sane’s late winner cuts the gap at the top

Man City v Liverpool: Premier League match preview

Leroy Sane struck the winner as Manchester City beat Liverpool 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in a fierce Premier League contest on Thursday, inflicting the first loss of the season on Juergen Klopp's side and cutting their lead at the top to four points.

Sadio Mane hit the post for Liverpool in the 18th minute and from the resulting scramble, John Stones's attempted clearance bounced off his keeper Ederson and the City defender did superbly to clear off the line with the ball millimetres from going in.

It was City who broke through five minutes before the break when Bernardo Silva found Sergio Aguero inside the box and the Argentine unleashed a fierce drive, from the tightest of angles, to fire past Alisson and make it 1-0.

Liverpool responded strongly after the break, though, and drew level when Andrew Robertson met a deep Trent Alexander-Arnold cross with a cushioned volley for Roberto Firmino to head in from close range.

City were not finished, though, and restored their lead in the 72nd minute when Raheem Sterling broke from midfield and fed Sane on the left, the German winger driving home off the inside of the far post.

Aguero went close to a third after Sterling led a swift counter-attack but Alisson was up to the task while at the other end Ederson produced a fine save to keep out a Mohammed Salah effort.

Alisson did well again to keep out a close-range blast from Bernardo Silva in the final minute of normal time. Reuters

Re-live all the action:

Preview

What time does it start?

Manchester City vs Liverpool kicks off at 8pm (GMT)

Where can I watch it?

The top of the table clash will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event.

We will keep you up to date with all the action via our live blog.

City bounced back after a recent bad run with the win at Southampton (PA)

Can I stream it?

Sky subscribers can watch the game online for free via the Sky Go app.

Player to watch…

Mo Salah: This game is full of players to watch with Sadio Mane, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Roberto Firmino, to name just a few, all capable of winning games on their own. However, last season’s FSF Men’s Player of the Year winner Mo Salah is possibly the most dangerous.

Liverpool’s blistering speed and attacking style suits Salah to a tee and the Egyptian forward has got 13 goals and seven assists in 20 league appearances so far this season. On his day, he can put any side to the sword.

Salah will be a factor at the Etihad (Getty)

Form guide…

Manchester City: WLLWLW

Liverpool: WWWWWW

Odds…

Manchester City to win: 26/25

Liverpool to win: 5/2

Draw: 14/5

Prediction…

Manchester City 2-3 Liverpool: With the attacking strength we have on display surely they’ll be goals in this one. The difference is, Liverpool’s defence has proven the most solid in the league so far whereas with City’s back line, questions are still asked. That could well be the deciding factor and Liverpool are going to edge through this one.

Key Points

Manchester City XI: Ederson, Danilo, Kompany, Stones, Laporte, B Silva, D Silva, Fernandinho, Sane, Aguero, Sterling​

[3 January 2019 16:40 · digitalsport]

More from Merson...

"If Liverpool lose the game, it's majorly game on because it's about how they react after, too, and they wouldn't be invincible any more, they wouldn't be quite as good as they thought they were. But I can't see them not getting anything.

"City look all over the place at the back. I don't really see their shape. They're great on the ball, but they close down quickly for so long and then drop off and if they do that against Liverpool and they get through one line, they've got too much pace for City to deal with.

As the game goes on, City get more open and they've struggled with clean sheets recently. Even when they're 1-0 up and cruising against Southampton, and it's a walk in the park, Charlie Austin's through one-on-one and that could change it. They could have had a penalty against them too, I've seen lesser penalties given.

"Win the game and go four behind and I think it's game on, it's what everyone will be hoping for unless you're a Liverpool fan… Well, you feel sorry for the Manchester United fans too, what do they want?! Really they needed Tottenham to beat Wolves!"

Merson predicts Manchester City 1-3 Liverpool.

[3 January 2019 16:50 · digitalsport]

Can tonight's clash be any more important?

Read below to find out exactly what makes this game so gigantic. Now just over three hours remain...

[3 January 2019 17:30 · digitalsport]

With clubs beginning to buy and sell players in the January transfer window, Liverpool manager Klopp has remained tight-lipped when asked about potential rumours surrounding the club. Read below to find out more including Dominic Solanke's loan, Daniel Sturridge's future and a combined Man City and Liverpool eleven:

[3 January 2019 18:00 · digitalsport]

Manchester City v Liverpool: The stats...

City have won just one of their last 11 meetings with Liverpool in all competitions, which was the 5-0 thrashing in the Premier League last season.

Guardiola has lost more matches against Klopp (7) than against anyone else in his managerial career.

Liverpool have only won five of their last 17 matches in all competitions in January with the Red's losing nine of Klopp's 24 matches during the month.

[3 January 2019 18:57 · Callum Rice-Coates]

The City players have arrived, and they look suitably focused. This is a massive game for Pep Guardiola's side. They can't afford another slip up.

[3 January 2019 19:01 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Team News

The teams are in!

[3 January 2019 19:07 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Changes

Some interesting selections from both managers. Manchester City bring John Stones in, alongside Vincent Kompany and Aymeric Laporte, which might suggest a back three. Leroy Sane returns, too, in place of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

For Liverpool, Jordan Henderson and James Milner come into midfield. Fabinho and Shaqiri, who started in the 5-1 victory over Arsenal, miss out.

[3 January 2019 19:14 · Callum Rice-Coates]

[3 January 2019 19:19 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Sergio Aguero will be looking for his 250th career league goal tonight. He's found the net in all six of his home appearances against Liverpool, so he might be feeling confident.

[3 January 2019 19:38 · Callum Rice-Coates]

The last time these two sides met was back in October, a cagey, tight goalless draw at Anfield. It was unusually anticlimactic, given the quality and the style of both teams. But tonight should be different. City cannot afford to sit off Liverpool and know that they need to take the game to their opposition. Let's hope for another 4-3, not a 0-0.