Five things to look out for - Liverpool vs Manchester City
Yesterday at 06:36 PM
City travel to top of the table Liverpool who would pull eleven points clear with a victory.
Manchester City travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in a top of the table clash in the Premier League.
City are in the middle of a run of wretched form, with five losses and a draw in their last six matches, with the draw against Feyenoord in their last match coming from a late collapse to draw 3-3 despite being 3-0 up on 76 minutes.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are fresh off the back of a commanding 2-0 victory against Real Madrid and have all the odds lined up in their favour to move eleven points clear of the Blues with a victory.
Here are five things to look out for as City face Arne Slot's men:
Liverpool's strength is City's weakness
Under new manager Arne Slot, Liverpool have fixed most of their weaknesses from last season whilst keeping the sense of fire that made them such a dangerous opponent under Jurgen Klopp.
Slot's Liverpool are more patient with possession but still have plenty of firepower up front, and have a much better defence than last season too.
Their main strength, however, remains attacking quickly with every available transition in an extremely direct approach.
City's midfield struggles this season have largely been based on defending transitions without Rodri and it's likely they'll struggle against the best team in the world at this particular feat.
The structure of the last few games will need to be changed, otherwise City are at high risk of being torn apart once again.
Clinicality in both boxes being crucial
If City are to beat Liverpool they'll need to have the rub of the green in the decisive moments of the game.
They'll need to defend their box well whilst taking their chances up front, something they've struggled to do in recent years at Anfield.
Erling Haaland and Ederson will need good individual performances, whilst the backline and attack will need to work in synchronisation to create chances and prevent Liverpool from doing the same.
It's much easier said than done but it'd be very "typical City" for them to pull a performance out the bag in the biggest match of the season so far after a poor run.
The return of Dias
One player City have missed desperately in their recent poor run is Ruben Dias; it's no coincidence that his injury coincided with the start of City's winless run.
The Portuguese international acts as the defence's organiser and contributes individually with blocks, tackles and interceptions as a part of his aggressive defending.
With him on the pitch, City wouldn't have let the lead against Feyenoord slip, as I doubt he'd have allowed the team to switch off as they did.
The players vote Kyle Walker as the captain and that decision should be respected but it amazes me as to why the 27 year old isn't the skipper, as he seems to be the perfect candidate and would fit the role for many years.
The key men in City's dressing room stepping up to the plate
Along with Dias, it's up to the likes of Walker, Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden to deliver.
City need performances from these players who have achieved so much in their careers up until this point, and they need their leadership skills too.
Walker is captain and we got a greater glimpse of his leadership skills in City's four in a row documentary published a few weeks ago.
De Bruyne and Gundogan lead by example, whilst Haaland and Foden often step up on the pitch with a moment of brilliance.
These players all need to turn up against Liverpool to make up for having no Rodri and to give the home side a good game even if they don't come out with three points.
A defeat not being the end of the world
Liverpool head into this game as favourites, and it's fair to say that if City carry their recent form into this affair a defeat - and a heavy one at that - is likely.
The Reds would pull eleven points clear of City if they do win, which would make a fifth consecutive title for City very, very difficult.
But if there's any team that can go on a run of 15 or so straight wins, it's City, and there's no reason to rule them out as they're always off their game at this time of the year.
We're just a month away from the January transfer window now where City are likely to strengthen, and whilst we can't expect a new signing to hit the ground running we can expect them to fix some of the major flaws in midfield.
They'd be far from favourites if Liverpool beat them today, but anyone calling the title race over may well be left with egg on their face at the end of the season if City turn it around as they have done before.
