Match Preview: Manchester City vs Liverpool
Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool face the first of two extremely testing away fixtures in a row, after the trip to Etihad, Liverpool take on Tottenham on Sunday. Both teams are coming off of a win in their first fixture, with City winning comfortably away at Newcastle, while Liverpool found it hard to unlock a disciplined Southampton defence, but were able to find a goal in the 79th thanks to Daniel Sturridge. Both the teams will be landing the first blow in the fight for the title but with it being so early on in the season, it won't make much of a difference other than giving a mental edge to the winning side.
Team News:
Manchester City:
Looks like Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo who fractured his metatarsal will be the only player missing for Manchester City. Pellegrini is unlikely to make too many changes to the team that beat Newcastle. But Sergio Aguero might start the game, after he came on to score in their previous match. Dzeko looks like the one to start alongside the Argentinian forward, making the front two for this game. The new signing Fernando who made his premier league debut at Newcastle is likely to be preferred to Fernandinho. And Martin Demichelis will continue to partner Vincent Kompany in the heart of the defence until new signing Mangala reaches match fitness.
Probable Line-up: Hart, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy, Fernando, Toure, Silva, Nasri, Aguero and Dzeko.
Key Player: Sergio Aguero
Liverpool:
The Reds, have some noticeable injury woes. Defenders Daniel Agger and John Falnagan have been ruled out, with both suffering knee injuries. New signing Adam Lallana who injured himself in the clubs pre-season tour, seems to have recovered but lacks match fitness. Serbian midfielder Lazar Markovic will be included in the match squad, after recovering from a hamstring problem. With Gerrard and Henderson sure starters, it needs to be seen who Rodgers prefers in the holding midfield role.
Probable Line-up: Mignolet, Manqullio, Lovern, Skrtel, Lovren, Allen, Henderson, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sterling and Sturridge.
Key Player: Raheem Sterling
Previous Matches Head to Head:
Apr 2013/2014 Liverpool 3 – 2 Man. City
Dec 2013/2014 Man. City 2 – 1 Liverpool
Feb 2012/2013 Man. City 2 – 2 Liverpool
Aug 2012/2013 Liverpool 2 – 2 Man. City
Jan 2011/2012 Man. City 3 – 0 Liverpool
Nov 2011/2012 Liverpool 1 – 1 Man. City
What our Pundits predict: Man City 1-1 Liverpool
.jpg "didierdrogba(1)")
.jpg "League")