With Manchester City and Liverpool’s Premier League 'title decider' ending in a 2-2 draw last weekend, both sides will be eyeing a victory in the FA Cup semi-final to cement the fact that they are England’s most dominant force at present.
City overcame a feisty Atletico Madrid side on Wednesday night, while Jurgen Klopp's Reds kept a tricky Benfica side at bay to reach the Champions League semi-finals, ensuring that both sets of teams remain in high spirits ahead of the clash.
With a treble in Pep Guardiola’s sights and a quadruple in Klopp’s at the end of the season, this fixture is worthy of all the pre-match hype it is receiving in various quarters.
Ahead of an evenly-poised contest at Wembley Stadium, here are the most fascinating statistics worth keeping an eye out for.
Manchester City
- Pep Guardiola became the first manager in Champions League history to have reached the semi-final in nine different seasons.
- John Stones became the first English centre-back to win the UEFA Player of the Match in the Champions League quarter-final (or further stages).
- Joao Cancelo (first), Aymeric Laporte (second), Rodri (third), and Ruben Dias (seventh) rank amongst the top-ten players in the Premier League for playing the most number of passes this campaign.
- Bernardo Silva ranks fourth amongst players in the Premier League to have covered the highest distance covered this term so far (333 km).
- Ederson has played the fourth highest minutes of any player in the Premier League’s current top six so far (2,700).
- Ilkay Gundogan ranks in the top 1% of midfielders in the top-five leagues in Europe for non-penalty xG (expected goals) plus xA (expected assists) per 90 over the last 365 days (0.52).
Liverpool
- Liverpool have now equalled Manchester City as the English club with the most European Cup semi-final appearances (12).
- Roberto Firmino became the fourth player to score 20+ Champions League goals for the Reds.
- No forward in the Premier League as many assists as Mohamed Salah this season (11).
- No full-backs in the English top-flight have put in as many crosses as Trent Alexander-Arnold (215) and Andy Robertson (159) this term.
- Mohamed Salah has taken the most shots in the league out of any player in the ongoing campaign (119).
Previous Meetings
- Manchester City and Liverpool have faced each other 219 times in total - with the former winning 58, the latter winning 105, and 56 meetings ending up as draws.
- Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s men have never gone head-to-head in the FA Cup.
- The Premier League top of the table clash between these two sides ended in a 2-2 draw last Sunday.
Upcoming Landmarks
- Ilkay Gundogan is three goals away from reaching 50 goals in a Manchester City shirt.
- Ruben Dias could make his 85th appearance for Manchester City in all competitions this weekend.
- Riyad Mahrez is one appearance away from his 20th for Manchester City in the FA Cup.
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