Manchester City vs Liverpool: What to keep an eye on ahead of pivotal Etihad clash
With only a point separating Liverpool in second from league leaders Manchester City, Saturday’s clash at the Etihad looks set to be intriguing. The Merseysiders are set to take on the incumbent champions at the dreaded 12:30pm kick-off – far from being a personal favourite of Jurgen Klopp’s. “When we come back we can only […]
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With only a point separating Liverpool in second from league leaders Manchester City, Saturday’s clash at the Etihad looks set to be intriguing.
The Merseysiders are set to take on the incumbent champions at the dreaded 12:30pm kick-off – far from being a personal favourite of Jurgen Klopp’s.
“When we come back we can only train once before we play Man City,” the German questioned in quotes relayed by The Athletic. “We won (against Brentford) so no one can say I’m moaning but how can you put a game like this on Saturday at 12.30pm?”
Playing midday fixtures has become something of a roll of the dice for the Europa League hopefuls.
Though one might imagine fans would prefer a dance with the odds when it comes to the casino games at Spincasino as opposed to on the pitch.
Jurgen Klopp’s 12:30pm record as Liverpool boss
Klopp’s first season at the Anfield helm saw him win four out of nine early kick-offs, which was followed by a disastrous four in 17 in the following two campaigns.
Three draws and three defeats from six 12:30pm kick-offs in 2022/23 hardly helped matters in what was a harrowing season.
The Reds have since set the tone more positively with a 3-1 win over Wolves back in September.
A lunchtime kick-off at the Etihad, however, will prove to be a different beast entirely.
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Chris Kavanagh the appointed official
The idea of a Manchester-born referee being handed the responsibility of officiating the biggest game in England is a little sickening.
That said, we do boast a surprisingly positive record when Chris Kavanagh is officiating, winning all but two games under the Englishman – an FA Cup defeat to Chelsea and a league defeat to Everton.
Rumours have, however, circulated on X over the individual’s brother allegedly owning a Manchester City season ticket, which will hardly be comforting news to Liverpool fans.
We can only keep our fingers-crossed that the game isn’t besmirched by yet more incompetent officiating calls.
Injuries to keep an eye on
Guardiola’s men have quite the raft of injuries to contend with from the likes of creator supreme Kevin De Bruyne to Nordic hitman Erling Haaland.
The concerns affecting the former Borussia Dortmund man and goalkeeper Ederson appear mild enough that we’re almost certain the pair will play a role in the upcoming meeting with Liverpool.
Mateo Kovacic is, sadly, ruled out of the occasion following the reoccurrence of a quad injury.
On our end, we’re still waiting on the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate.
The latter issue is a minor one, according to Jurgen Klopp (Standard), though many a fan will no doubt be waiting with bated breath ahead of the weekend.
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