Liverpool will be eager to avoid another slip up when they visit Manchester City on Sunday.
The Reds have been held to a draw in their last two Premier League away games – at Everton and Aston Villa – and now sit just eight points ahead of second-placed Arsenal having played a game more.
The Gunners can move to within five by kick-off at the Etihad as they host West Ham on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool played well at Villa Park, much better than they did last Sunday when they edged out Wolves 2-1 at Anfield but looked nervous in doing so.
Darwin Nunez will hope to play better if called upon after missing a gift-wrapped chance against Villa. Boss Arne Slot was not annoyed by the miss itself, more the Uruguay striker’s reaction.
He said: “I can accept every miss, especially from a player that has scored two very important goals against Brentford.
“In the game against Villa, I would prefer him to score, but the word ‘chance’ says it all – it’s a ‘chance’. It’s not 100% sure that the ball goes in.
“But what was a bit harder for me to accept was his behaviour after that chance. And by ‘behaviour’ I mean I think it got too much in his head and he wasn’t the usual Darwin that works his a** off and makes sure he helps the team.
“I think he was too disappointed after missing that chance.”
Let’s take a look back at some memorable Etihad moments against Liverpool ⏮️ 🤩 pic.twitter.com/U1TOpjprJd
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 21, 2025
Manchester City will hope to bounce back from the midweek mauling against Real Madrid, a 3-0 defeat that has outlined the size of the overhaul required at the Etihad.
It appears time has caught up with many of their ageing stars and Pep Guardiola has a big summer of rebuilding ahead of him.
City’s recent league performances have been wildly inconsistent. They beat Newcastle 4-0 last weekend, two weeks after losing 5-1 at Arsenal.
Injury News for Manchester City v Liverpool
Guardiola will be hoping Erling Haaland will be available after he wasn’t fit enough to come off the bench in Madrid while John Stones is definitely out.
Manuel Akanji remains sidelined.
Liverpool’s main injury doubt is Cody Gakpo. The Dutch international has missed their last two games but Slot said it would be a “close call” on whether he would be involved at the Etihad.
The Liverpool boss does not expect right-back Conor Bradley to make the City game or the midweek clash with Newcastle.
Joe Gomez has just had surgery on a hamstring but Slot is not ruling out the possiblity of the Englishman returning before the end of the season.
Manchester City: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Marmoush, Savinho; Haaland
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz
