Paul Merson has labelled Liverpool “favourites” to beat Manchester City at the Etihad this weekend.
The home side are in excellent form, but writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said that this fixture could perfectly suit Arne Slot’s team:
“If Liverpool lose this game, they are out of the title race. So basically, this is their biggest game of the season. If you buy a player for £115 million or around that mark, you have to play him in your biggest match. Whether he is firing or not, he has to be there! You brought him in for these games and to beat City, you need someone that can pick the right pass. Florian Wirtz is that type of player.”
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“When you’re a Liverpool player, you aren’t going to get too many games where the opposition will have a go at you. But this game will be different, City will try to take the game to Liverpool and that could open up space for Wirtz to be his best self. We saw that against Real Madrid and that is why he should be in the starting XI ahead of Cody Gakpo.”
“Liverpool have found some confidence now. Arne Slot has also gone back to his best full-back pairing and midfield combination. When you have Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai as your three in midfield against City, you have got to be the favourites.”
What score has Merson predicted for Man City vs Liverpool?
The Sky Sports pundit has gone with a 3-1 win to the Merseysiders, which will delight supporters.
Victories against Aston Villa and Liverpool have boosted morale after a terrible run of results, so there is confidence that Slot’s men can get a big result on Sunday evening.
Man City vs Liverpool team news
Liverpool should have Alexander Isak back in the squad, with Slot having confirmed that the club record signing has returned to training after 4 games sidelined with a groin problem.
Alisson Becker and Jeremie Frimpong are both still unavailable due to hamstring injuries, while Giovanni Leoni (ACL) has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
City have only one fitness concern, with Mateo Kovacic on the treatment table due to an ankle issue.
Read more about the Liverpool First Team Squad for 2025/26 here