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Liverpool’s meeting with Manchester City at Anfield this Sunday has all the ingredients of a season-shaping afternoon, with Pep Guardiola’s side arriving under real pressure to keep their title chase alive. City have already seen Arsenal open up daylight at the top, and any more dropped points could be fatal for the visitor’s title hopes.
City’s potential task at Anfield may have become even trickier after Pep Guardiola confirmed Bernardo Silva is a doubt for the Liverpool clash following City’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg win over Newcastle.
“I don’t know; Bernardo is special,” said Guardiola as quoted by Manchester Evening News. “We’ll see. Yesterday, he said to me that ‘I feel quite good, I want to try’ – but I don’t know. It’s in a position that is less dangerous than the hamstring, it’s another type of muscle in the hamstring position. We’ll see in the next days. He’s an incredible doubt [for Liverpool]. He will try, I think so. Knowing him, he will try. But right now, I don’t know.”
Silva’s ability to play through pain is well‑documented, given he has only missed nine matches in the last nine years through injury, but Guardiola appears reluctant to risk him if he is not fully sharp.
It is a lengthy City injury list that also features John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Savinho. Kovacic remains out following ankle surgery and is targeting a mid-March comeback
The situation is far bleaker when it comes to Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol, who fractured his tibia during the 1-1 draw with Chelsea last month. The 24-year-old underwent surgery and is now facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with no return date set but will likely remain out for the reason of the season.
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