Manchester City vs Liverpool - as it happened: Pep Guardiola's men run riot against 10-man Reds
Re-live all the action from the Etihad Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester City and Liverpool have enjoyed good starts to the season, with two wins and a draw each from their opening three fixtures. But with City’s vast expenditure this summer, Pep Guardiola will be expecting nothing less than victory (three full-backs for a combined £130m demands as much).
The Catalan knows that this is the season for silverware, after a year in which he often struggled to master English football’s physicality. There can be no room for excuses, and there are no good reasons why City should not expect, let alone hope, to win the title.
Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are fiercely competitive characters, even by the standards of Premier League managers, and will set up their sides to attack and dominate the other as much as possible.
It promises to be an engrossing encounter.
See who comes out on top by following all the live action below:
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
What time does it start?
Manchester City vs Liverpool kicks off at 12:30 BST on Saturday 9th September.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League from 12:30 BST. Highlights will be shown at 22:30 BST on BBC One.
It’s a big game for…
Roberto Firmino: Liverpool have been boosted by the news that influential Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is unlikely to recover from injury in time to feature in this match.
All eyes will therefore be on Liverpool's leading man Firmino, who will fancy his chances against City's patched-up defence. Expect goals.
Best stat…
3: The number of years since Man City last beat Liverpool in the Premier League. Their last was a 3-1 win at the Etihad on August 25th 2014.
Remember when…
Willy Caballero’s penalty-saving heroics against Jurgen Klopp’s men clinched the League Cup for City in 2016.
Player to watch…
Kevin De Bruyne: The 26-year-old Belgian has started the season in dazzling form, occupying a new role deeper in midfield.
A wide range of passing is not the first skill associated with De Bruyne, but it is one he has exhibited abundantly this term. His versatility will be tested, though, against an in-form Liverpool.
Past three meetings…
Manchester City 1 (Aguero) Liverpool 1 (Milner), Premier League, March 2017
Liverpool 1 (Wijnaldum) Manchester City 0, Premier League, December 2016
Liverpool 3 (Lallana, Milner, Firmino) Manchester City 0, Premier League, March 2016
Form guide…
Manchester City: WDLWWW
Liverpool: WWWWDW
Odds…
Manchester City to win: 17/20
Liverpool to win: 16/5
Draw: 14/5
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Manchester City vs Liverpool.
International football is over for another month so let's enjoy the respite while it lasts!
Both of these teams have a chance of going top of the table (for a few hours at least) but only a win will do if either side is to knock Manchester United off their perch.
The teams are in
Here's how the two teams line up today:
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Danilo, Mendy, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Jesús, Aguero
Subs: Bravo, Foden, Mangala, Sane, Gundogan, Delph, Bernardo
Liverpool: Mignolet, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Klavan, Moreno, Henderson, Can, Wijnaldum, Mane, Salah, Firmino
Subs: Karius, Lovren, Gomez, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Solanke, Sturridge
So, Vincent Kompany is injured again and that's probably the biggest thing to take from the two teams' line-ups.
The City skipper picked up a knock on international duty and Danilo is set to fill in for him in the centre of Pep Guardiola's defence.
We know how important Kompany is to City; will his absence have a negative effect on his team today?
Klopp explains Lovren and Gomez omissions
"Dejan [Lovren] played 90 minutes on Tuesday in a difficult game against Turkey. He came back and he'd felt the intensity a little bit. [Ragnar] Klavan played outstandingly good against Crystal Palace so that's why we have the players.
"With Joe [Gomez], it's pretty much the same. He played two games for the England U21s and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] only played one so has fresher legs."
Oxlade-Chamberlain speaks
On what position he wants to play in at Liverpool: "I've always been a central attacking midfielder. As I became a professional I got put out wide more. I like doing that as well but I want to be further forward on the pitch. I got the feel from coming here that I'd be playing further forward and in attacking midfielder.
On his first Jurgen Klopp bear hug: "It was nice, very warm, very loving, very passionate. He's a really interesting and inspirational character. I've got that hunger to do him right and play well for him."
Quotes from Sky Sports
Bernardo Silva: I couldn't say no to Pep
"When you have a coach like Pep Guardiola, you cannot say no. When you have this opportunity to play with David Silva, De Bruyne, Aguero... all of them, and to be trained by Guardiola and to learn from the best, you can't say no.
"I think Guardiola is very different from [Leonardo] Jardim in Monaco so I'm learning different things. He pays attention to the little details and that makes the difference.
"He gives you the freedom to play and to use your qualities, so it's been a pleasure. I've learned a lot already and I hope I can learn much more."
Quotes from Sky Sports
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