The match of the season, it has been branded in the Premier League. That, of course, is very hard to dispute at the moment. Manchester City and Liverpool have been fierce rivals in the last couple of years, not just on the domestic scene, with each perfectly capable of winning when the other seems unstoppable.
It’s Manchester City who are to ‘blame’ for Liverpool not winning more than one Premier League title under Jurgen Klopp so far. It’s Liverpool who are to ‘blame’ for Manchester City not exclusively dominating the English top flight since 2017-18. It’s Manchester City who are given the shortest odds among the English clubs to win the Champions League each year. It’s Liverpool who (along with Chelsea last season) have actually won it, while for Pep Guardiola’s team it remains the Holy Grail.
But more than that is at stake when the two titans clash at the Etihad on Sunday.
Manchester City
Having started the season in a slightly underwhelming manner, City quickly picked up their pace and started winning as ruthlessly as ever. A brilliant run, spanning the end of 2021 and the start of 2022, saw them pull away at the top, and there was a moment when even the most die-hard Liverpool supporters were forced to consider the possibility that the title race might just be over.
However, there came a halt in that charge, and several rather disappointing results since have blown the door wide open again. The two teams have played 30 league matches each, and City lead the way with 73 points, with Liverpool breathing down their necks again on 72.
It’s the final stretch of the 2018-19 season all over again, and City will be hoping it remains like that until the very end.
The list of last six matches City have played in all competitions consists of a 4-1 home win over city rivals Manchester United, a goalless but ultimately meaningless draw at home against Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, a very important goalless draw away to Crystal Palace, a 1-4 triumph away to Southampton in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, a 0-2 win away to Burnley, and a difficult 1-0 win at home against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Liverpool
At the moment, the Merseysiders remain the only English team with a chance of winning the fabled ‘quadruple’. They’ve already taken the Carabao Cup, so they won’t end the season without a trophy whatever happens from hereon.
They’re in good stead to reach the semifinals of the Champions League, and as has been said, they’re close behind City in the Premier League table. What hasn’t been said yet is that Liverpool and City play again six days after this clash, in the semifinals of the FA Cup at Wembley. An emotion-packed week awaits both sets of supporters.
Klopp and his men have done extremely well to take advantage of City’s questionable results in some matches recently, keeping their cool and staying as professional as possible to win game after game. Many expected them to start dropping points left and right during the AFCON-related absence of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, but that period saw them win both league matches they played, as well as dispose of Arsenal in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup.
Liverpool’s last-six runs begins with a totally benign 0-1 home defeat to Inter Milan in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. Then they beat Brighton and Hove Albion away by 0-2, Arsenal away by 0-2, Nottingham Forest away in the FA Cup by 0-1, Watford at home by 2-0, and eventually Benfica in Lisbon by 1-3 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals earlier this week.
Live: Manchester City vs Liverpool | EPL Derby
