LIVERPOOL VS. MANCHESTER CITY

| Sunday, October 3rd |
Premier League | Anfield
4:30PM GMT/11:30AM EST

Liverpool head into week seven with a tenuous, one point lead over Manchester City in the table. Both teams have a chance to land a big blow in this first of two league games. The Reds welcome City to Anfield on Sunday off of a great showing against Porto midweek and a weird one against Brentford last weekend.

The big news is that right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold won’t be available for this match, which means that Klopp has some choices to make in that position. Most likely, we’ll see James Milner starting like he did against Porto. Of course, there’s always the chance that Klopp might not think that he can handle two matches in a week. Joe Gomez and Neco Williams could also come in if Klopp thinks that will suit the game the best.

Leo Messi made former manager Pep Guardiola suffer midweek when he scored the opening goal in PSG’s victory over City. However, City did pick up all three points against Chelsea last weekend in a slim 1-0 win.

Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)

Alisson; Milner, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Firmino, Mané

After Curtis Jones’ strong showing against Porto, expect to see him get the nod in midfield in the absence of Thiago. While Gomez could show up at right-back, it will likely be Milner who goes one more time before Alexander-Arnold’s return.

In addition to Trent and Thiago, Harvey Elliott is also missing for the Reds.

For Manchester City, Guardiola will be without Ilkay Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko for this match.

What the Managers Had to Say

Jurgen Klopp: “First and foremost, the best way to defend is to keep the ball, that’s what City are doing pretty well. They have big possession numbers, stuff like that.”

Pep Guardiola: “I’m very pleased Anfield is full again and we can go there to play a game. It’s nice that the people are back and we can enjoy a fantastic atmosphere there. Hopefully we can handle it in a good way. I’m pretty sure the players would prefer to play with fans at Anfield than without. Everything is more alive, it’s more difficult.”

The Officials

Referee: Paul Tierney. Assistants: Lee Betts, Constantine Hatzidakis. Fourth official: Mike Dean. VAR: Stuart Attwell. Assistant VAR: Marc Perry.

Kickoff is set for 4:30PM GMT/11:30AM EST tomorrow. In the meantime, The Liverpool Offside team will keep you updated with all of the team news and match buildup as it becomes available, along with providing a matchday liveblog and post-match recaps and reaction. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account and have your say on the action as it happens.