This weekend delivers a highly anticipated matchup between Manchester City and Liverpool, two Premier League teams looking to gain ground on first-place Arsenal. In recent history, a rivalry has started brewing between the two squads, who have accounted for nine of the last EPL 12 titles — including each of the last eight.
Sunday will also be a milestone for Man City’s Pep Guardiola. The legendary manager will coach his 1,000th match after previous stints — and 715 wins — with Barcelona B, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Guardiola has been at City since 2016, a decade-long stretch that has brought six EPL championships.
How to watch Manchester City vs. Liverpool (U.S.)
- Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester, England
- Time: 11:30 a.m. ET, Sunday
- TV: USA Network
- Streaming: Fubo (Stream Free Now!)
Despite their standing near the top of the league table, these clubs enter the weekend under differing circumstances. Man City (6-1-3, 19 points) has won four of its last five in Premier League play, while Liverpool (6-0-4, 18 points) has lost four of its previous five.
Before last weekend’s victory, it had been well over a month since Liverpool had won a league match. A four-game skid finally ended after a 2-0 result against Aston Villa. Mohamed Salah scored his 250th goal in a Liverpool uniform, good for third in club history.
The Reds are also coming off a 1-0 Champions League triumph against Real Madrid on Tuesday. Despite a season-low 40 percent possession, Liverpool recorded 13 shots and forced Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to make eight saves. Perhaps the club found a strategy it can build off of moving forward.
The defending Premier League champions now travel to Etihad Stadium for a tough test against City and the sensational Erling Haaland.
“Playing City away is one of the most difficult challenges you have throughout a season,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said.
Man City’s last EPL match ended in a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth on Nov. 2, thanks to two goals from Haaland. He added another goal in City’s 4-1 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Although Haaland already has more career goals than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi by their age-25 seasons, the striker dismissed any comparisons to those all-time greats. “Not at all, far off,” Haaland said. “No one can get close to them.”
Haaland is the Premier League’s leading scorer (13) by a healthy margin, more than double that of second place (six) heading into the weekend.
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