Premier League leaders Liverpool travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City on Sunday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included in our preview ahead of the action.
Manchester City vs Liverpool Preview
Fresh off the back of being eliminated from the Champions League, Manchester City return to Premier League action with a home clash against league leaders Liverpool to round off Gameweek 26 on Sunday.
The Cityzens’ European exit was confirmed on Wednesday, as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the knockout play-off round. On aggregate, they were beaten 6-3.
Sandwiched between the two losses against Los Blancos, Pep Guardiola’s side recorded a 4-0 win over Newcastle last time out in the league. January signing Omar Marmoush was particularly impressive, netting his first hat-trick for the club.
Ahead of the weekend’s action, City occupy fourth place in the table, 17 points adrift of the Reds, three points behind third place Nottingham Forest and nine points behind second place Arsenal.
Onto Sunday's @PremierLeague encounter against Manchester City 👊 pic.twitter.com/iQ8Yozfrp5
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 20, 2025
Liverpool, meanwhile, were also in action on Wednesday evening. Arne Slot‘s side, who led through Mohamed Salah after 29 minutes, were held to a 2-2 draw away at Aston Villa, meaning that they have now won just one of their last four.
Within that run, the Reds also drew 2-2 against Everton in the rescheduled Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, and they were beaten 1-0 by bottom of the Championship Plymouth in the FA Cup fourth round.
Sunday’s clash will be the second time that the pair have faced off this term, with December’s reverse fixture at Anfield ending 2-0 in favour of Liverpool thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Salah.
Manchester City Team News
The Cityzens are without Rodri (knee), John Stones (thigh) and Manuel Akanji (thigh) due to their respective injury concerns, while Oscar Bobb (leg) and Erling Haaland (knee) are doubts.
If Haaland isn’t deemed fit enough to start, Marmoush will almost certainly lead the line.
Liverpool Team News
As for the Reds, they remain without long-term absentee Joe Gomez (thigh), and second-choice right-back Conor Bradley has also been ruled out after suffering a thigh injury against Villa last time out.
Gakpo, who has missed Liverpool’s last two league matches, is a doubt. On the Dutchman’s injury, Slot said: “I hope [he’s available], I’m not 100 per cent sure. He hasn’t trained with the team yet. Maybe he does a bit today. I don’t know exactly. It will be a close call.”
Manchester City vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups
Manchester City Predicted Lineup:
Ederson; Khusanov, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gonzalez; Silva, Foden, Savinho; Marmoush
Liverpool Predicted Lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota
Manchester City vs Liverpool Prediction
According to the UK’s best football betting sites, Liverpool are favourites to prevail on Sunday. The Reds are rated at around 6/5 by the bookmakers, while a draw is valued at 14/5 and a City win is priced at 19/10.
We at SportsCasting also favour the visitors, despite a few underwhelming performances in the last couple of weeks, and expect them to come out on top by a two-goal margin, as they did in the reverse fixture in Gameweek 13.
Prediction: Manchester City 1-3 Liverpool
