Liverpool v Manchester City: Premier League – live | Premier League

Key events

Max Sanderson gets in touch: “I have to say all this talk of Pep’s impending day of reckoning hasn’t sat quite right with me. One factor that has been overlooked is Phil Foden, who’s obviously had a quiet year so far, but if he can find the pockets today, it could the impetus for City to turn their season around.”

Some highlights of that remarkable Sky interview with Guardiola:

“You cannot imagine how much I get paid! It comes with my salary. If I don’t want that pressure, I resign, go home and I don’t have this weight on my shoulders. All the managers have that.”
“How you are in your thoughts when the opponent punches you in the face. That’s being stable.”
“I always use this as an example: Romelu Lukaku, two minutes to go in the final of the Champions League. In the six-yard box in the middle with a header. He shoots into the knee of Ederson. And we won the Champions League. What a legend Pep is! What a team, personality, character!”
I want to be honest: the club needs this period. To realise what we have done and build for the future. It’s so important. You have to lose sometimes. I don’t like it. But it will be good for the club.”
“But knowing the reality and the team, we cannot make targets to win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cups. It’s unnecessary when in the last six games we have not been able to win one.”
“If Liverpool win, I would shake their hands. If Arsenal win with Mikel Arteta, I would be so happy for him. Believe me, truly, honestly. But I don’t like not competing because the players I have are injured. But it is what it is. It’s life.”

Arne Slot has been speaking to the BBC: “I think what we expect is what you always expect from City. They like to control the ball and possession. Maybe the difference between this [and normal] is [lack of] wingers. We have to wait and see in the first few minutes if they have changed anything in terms of formation.

“A bit of everything today. We’d both like to have the ball. If you’re sloppy [in a game like this] you have no chance. You have to be top on every aspect of your game. We have to be on top of our game in everything.”

“I still had one choice to make. Five defenders for four positions going into a month like this is far from ideal. The injuries won’t take one week. Dom played really well last week. We have four attackers available. Harvey Elliott is coming back and can help us.”

Jack Grealish, benched again, is meanwhile confined to saying “Merry Football-darts-mas” on Sky. Oh dear.

A wide-ranging interview that Pep gave to Sky. To say he looks a bit jumpy may be understating it.

Jose gets in touch: “I just wanted to comment that in South America and south of Spain Diaz and Dias are pronounced in the same way but in the rest of Spain Diaz is pronounced like “Diath”. So we would say “Diath” for the Liverpool player and Dias for the Manchester City player.”

For Liverpool: Conor Bradley had his Mbappe moment but also got injured so a timely return for Trent Alexander-Arnold. Joe Gomez replaces Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai replaces Curtis Jones in midfield.

For City: Ederson dropped, with Scott Carson on the bench too? Kyle Walker survives but Joso Gvardiol is also out. Ruben Dias is back. De Bruyne remains on the bench. Jack Grealish will also be riding pine.

The teams are here:

Liverpool: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, ~~Nunez~~, Gakpo, Diaz. Subs: Jaros, Davies, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Quansah, Morton, Nyoni.

Manchester City XI: Ortega, Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Lewis, Gundogan, Nunes, Silva, Foden, Haaland. Subs: Ederson, Carson, Grealish, Doku, De Bruyne, Gvardiol, Savinho, O’Reilly, McAtee

“I don’t sleep as good as when I won every game. I’m the same person as four Premier Leagues in a row and in that situation, I have the same doubts. Now I want to be closer to the players, because I know they are suffering, I know they are thinking: ‘Oh God, how we were not able to win that game against Feyenoord?’ Or: ‘Why don’t we score when we had the chance to score against Spurs?’ They are suffering. What can I do, blame them? Absolutely not.”

Plenty of previews for this game.

Early team news

Liverpool v Manchester City: probable starters, contenders in italics Photograph: Guardian

Liverpool

Subs from Jaros, Davies, Bradley, Gomez, Quansah, Endo, Elliott, Morton, Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Nyoni

Doubtful Bradley (hamstring)

Injured Konaté (knee, unknown), Alisson (hamstring, 7 Dec), Jota (ribs, 7 Dec), Chiesa (muscle, 7 Dec), Tsimikas (ankle, unknown)

Suspended None

Form WWDWWW Leading scorer Salah 10

Manchester City

Subs from Carson, Ortega, Wilson-Ebrand, McAtee, Perrone, Savinho, O’Reilly, Gündogan, Simpson-Pusey, Nunes, Aké

Doubtful Stones (unknown), Doku (hamstring)

Injured Bobb (leg, 1 Jan), Rodri (knee, 1 Jun), Kovacic (unknown, 21 Dec)

Suspended None

Form WWWLLL Leading scorer Haaland 12

Preamble

OK, this is massive. Certain early-season matches – and this is still pretty early in the season – carry too much hype, but with Manchester City wobbling – and wibbling – and Liverpool flying, this is a huge match. Could the gap between the two be 11 whole points? That would be shades of 2019-20, when Liverpool stormed to the Premier League. All eyes on Pep Guardiola, who took head-scratching too far the other night, and whose media appearances since Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Feyenoord have held the look of a haunted man. Arne Slot has taken on the chilled-out entertainer role, cracking gags about Mo Salah when so many others are catastrophising, and his team look capable of several gears. City meanwhile, seem incapable of even grinding games out. They can’t, though, afford to lose this, and the great teams will always find a way. Now is the time for them to be stand up and be counted.

Kick-off is at 4pm UK time. Join me.