Former champions vs. current champions. Blue vs. Red. Manchester City vs. Liverpool. The Etihad Stadium will stage the latest instalment of a growing rivalry between two of England’s strongest teams on Sunday afternoon.
Both sides are determined to claim a statement win to ensure they do not fall further behind in-form leaders Arsenal, who could move nine points clear of Man City in second and 10 clear of Liverpool in third if they beat Sunderland on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s men bounced back from a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa by claiming all three points in an impressive 3-1 home victory over high-flying Bournemouth last weekend, before putting Borussia Dortmund to the sword 4-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
As for Arne Slot’s side, they ended a miserable run of six defeats in seven, including four straight Premier League losses, by **beating Aston Villa 2-0**at Anfield last weekend, before securing a slender 1-0 triumph over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Encounters between Man City and Liverpool have a history of producing memorable moments and plenty of drama, and when the stakes are high with little room for error, success has often come down to who triumphs in the pivotal battles on the pitch.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at three key battles to watch out for when Man City lock horns with Liverpool this weekend.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland in action with Virgil van Dijk on March 10 , 2024
Few will argue that Erling Haaland has been the Premier League’s standout performer in the 2025-26 season and keeping the division’s top scorer quiet is a challenge that many defenders have struggled with for some time.
Haaland has scored 18 goals in just 14 appearances across the Premier League and Champions League this season, and he has particularly excelled at the Etihad where he has netted 10 times in just seven games, scoring a brace in each of his last four home league matches.
However, Haaland has lost five of his eight encounters with Liverpool in all tournaments, scoring only three goals, and the colossal presence of Virgil van Dijk is perhaps one key reason why Man City’s No.9 has found it difficult to make his mark in recent battles with the Merseysiders.
Van Dijk is widely regarded as the Premier League’s best centre-back, but some of his performances have come under question this term as the Dutchman has been part of a shaky Liverpool backline that has conceded 22 goals in 16 games across all competitions. Slot will hope that his captain can step up alongside Ibrahima Konate for the big occasion on Sunday.
Man City have increasingly utilised long passes this season and if Liverpool wish to prevent Haaland running in behind or flicking the ball forward for teammates to chase, they will need to rely on Van Dijk’s defensive nous and aerial dominance. No Premier League player has made more clearances (90) or won more aerial duels this season than Van Dijk (47) - almost double Haaland’s tally (24) for the latter.
Liverpool's Conor Bradley on November 4, 2025
With Jeremi Frimpong still sidelined through injury, Slot will weigh up whether to use Conor Bradley or Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back, the former of whom produced a man-of-the-match display against Vinicius Junior in Liverpool’s midweek win over Real Madrid.
Bradley, who won 100% of his tackles and made seven recoveries against Los Blancos, will feel that his recent performance warrants another start, which would allow Szoboszlai - one of Liverpool’s standout players this term - to operate in his favored midfield position next to Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.
The Northern Irishman may, however, have his mettle tested in an intriguing duel with Man City’s dribbling master Jeremy Doku, who appears to have nailed down the left-wing role for the time being and is poised to make is 100th appearance for the Citizens this weekend.
Only three Premier League players have provided more assists than Doku (three) so far this season. The tricky Belgian led the way for completed take-ons in the top flight last season (107) and he ranks second after 10 matches in the current campaign (27), only behind Mohammed Kudus (34).
Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly celebrates on November 2, 2025
Last season’s Premier League Player of the Season, Mohamed Salah, has not yet reached the same heights in the current campaign, but recent performances suggest Liverpool’s Egyptian king is beginning to find his rhythm again ahead of an important period.
Salah has scored in back-to-back Premier League games against Brentford and Aston Villa and the right-sided attacker will likely come up against Man City’s rising star Nico O’Reilly, whose impressive form at left-back has been rewarded with a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
With Josko Gvardiol moving to centre-back and Rayan Ait-Nouri having only just recovered from injury, O’Reilly is expected to retain his spot a left-back where he scored his first goal of the season in City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth last weekend.
It will be intriguing to see whether O’Reilly adjusts his offensive game to focus on nullifying Salah’s threat. Standing at 6ft 4in at the age of just 20, O’Reilly has shown that he is a powerful athlete and will back himself when defending against another physically strong and skillful player in Salah.
Guardiola’s faith in O’Reilly is clear, with only Ruben Dias having played more minutes in Man City’s defence than the academy graduate, who also ranks first of all Citizens players for tackles and interceptions combined (27) in the Premier League this term.
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