Manchester City and [Liverpool](https://walkon.com/) will renew their rivalry at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday on Matchday 11 of the 2025/26 Premier League season in a battle between second and third.
Let’s try to make a more focused combined XI for this specific match. Instead of trying to pick the best overall players on quality and reputation, let’s do it solely based on 1) who is actually expected to start on Sunday and 2) how their form has been this season.
With those things in mind, the choice at goalkeeper would be obvious under any set of criteria. Gianluigi Donnarumma is one of the top three keepers on this planet and has been as good as advertised so far for the Citizens.
On the back line, Conor Bradley is coming off a great game against Real Madrid, but it hasn’t been the best of seasons for him. So Man City will own the fullbacks with standout left back Nico O’Reilly joining makeshift right back Matheus Nunes.
In central defense, Virgil van Dijk has been one of the best center backs in the Premier League yet again. The spot next to him is a lot more disputed, as Man City’s center back partnershpi is quite good, too. But even though his form to start the season was poor, Ibrahima Konate has quietly picked things up and just shut Kylian Mbappe down. So the CBs go to the Reds.
In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai are the obvious standouts. They have been two of the best players in the entire Premier League at any position. Meanwhile, Phil Foden sneaks in ahead of them as the playmaker, as his form in recent weeks has been outstanding; he destroyed Dortmund at mid-week with two glorious goals.
The front three will clearly be anchored by Erling Haaland, who is running away with the Golden Boot and is the league’s only valid Ballon d’Or candidate at this moment in time.
On either side of him, Cody Gakpo and Rayan Cherki get the nod. Since returning from injury, Cerhki has been spellbinding, edging out a pretty ordinary version of Mohamed Salah in the Premier League, at least. And Gakpo deserves his flowers for being a tremendous wide playmaker.
So in total, Manchester City win out with six players to Liverpool’s five, just barely edging out the Reds in this combined XI, which makes sense since they are just barely edging out Liverpool in the Premier League table by one point.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.