Man City vs Liverpool: Premier League team news and prediction

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City welcome Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in a huge clash to welcome back Premier League football after the international break. 

Ahead of this one, we provide the necessary pre-match information, including where to watch the top of the table clash, team news and probable XIs. 

When is kick off?       

Saturday 1st April, 12:30 GMT 

Where is the match?       

Etihad Stadium, Manchester 

What TV channel is it on?       

BT Sport 1, BT Sport Ultimate, BT Sport Website, BT Sport App 

Form Guide 

Since the 1-0 loss to Tottenham at the start of February, Manchester City are unbeaten in the six Premier League games that followed, only drawing one of those. On home soil they have only dropped five points, winning 11, drawing one and losing the other, with only leaders Arsenal (35) picking up more points at home this season than City (34). 

Heading into the international break, Liverpool lost only one of their last six games in the Premier League, though that did come in their final match, where they lost 1-0 at Bournemouth. On their travels in the league, they have only picked up 12 points from a possible 39 available, winning on just three occasions, though two of those came against teams currently above them in the league in Tottenham and Newcastle. 

Team news 

Phil Foden is ruled out until May having had his appendix removed during the international break, while Erling Haaland is a doubt for the home side, which may see Julian Alvarez start.  

This game comes too soon for Thiago, but Luis Diaz may be fit to play some part for the first time since October having returned to training. Darwin Nunez and Kostas Tsimikas will both have to be assessed, though only the former would have started if fit, while Naby Keita is also nursing a knock. Calvin Ramsay and Stefan Bajcetic will both miss the rest of the season owing to injury. 

Probable XIs 

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Gundogan; Silva, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland. 

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez. 

Key battle: Ederson vs Alisson

Brazil teammates Ederson and Alisson are likely to be two of the busiest players on the pitch on Saturday considering the abundance of attacking quality they'll be up against.

The last three Golden Glove awards have been won by Ederson, though was shared with Alisson last season, and while some have criticised the City No.1 for a dip in form, he has only conceded 25 goals, giving his side the second best defensive record in the league. Guardiola likes his players to be sound in possession and Ederson fits the bill with the best pass accuracy (84.4%) among goalkeepers to make 20+ appearances in the Premier League this season.

Just like last season, Alisson is level with Ederson when it comes to clean sheets (10), and his return is arguably more impressive having faced 107 shots compared to Ederson's 63. What makes Alisson stand out even more amidst this added pressure is that his save success rate (73.8%) is second only to David Raya (74.5%) in the Premier League this season. Additionally, like Ederson, Alisson has also registered an assist this season, which came in the reverse fixture for Mohamed Salah, in what turned out to be the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for the Reds.

While the majority of eyes will be on the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah, the result may be determined by the players between the sticks.

Score prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Liverpool