Manchester City at Liverpool is the biggest match of the year by far in the Premier League; at least up to this point. Overflowing with league title implications, it’s a titanic clash that will see the two table toppers squaring off at Anfield.
Let’s take a spin through all the news topics that are trending now in relation to this mega match. Also, here’s a link to part one of our news and notes for this destined to be epic clash.
-For Manchester City, defender Benjamin Mendy is in contention after returning to training with the team. Meanwhile midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is a doubt after limping off during the win UEFA Champions League win at Hoffenheim in midweek.
-Gundogan says that this game will be the toughest away test for his side all season.
-Elsewhere, Jurgen Klopp says he’s not concerned about the form of last season’s player of the year Mohamed Salah at this moment. Salah broke the league goal scoring record last season, but has netted just three times so far this term.
“Obviously expectation changed, that’s normal. He’s set a completely new standard last year,” Klopp said at his weekly presser today.
“From the rest, it’s what he did last year. Nobody expected 10 goals after five, six, seven games. It was always a nice surprise. Each striker could write a book about these moments when you score without knowing how it exactly works, how you did it, hit each ball in a perfect way and stuff like that. That’s so rare that it happens like that.”
“Ninety-eight percent of a striker’s career is hardest work and only two percent is kind of easy-going stuff. All good.”
“The only thing that’s massively changed is kind of the questions you ask. Last year, from the beginning, I don’t think he was a big story to talk about. Then it started with a slightly positive story: ‘Oh, wow. Not bad’ and then: ‘Oh, even better.’ It all was a surprise.
“Now, that’s the world out there. That’s how it is in my job. If I win games, I know everything about football. But if I lose three in a row, people think I have no clue about football. Both is not true. The truth is always somewhere in between.”
-And finally, Klopp says that he plays an aggressive, attacking style of football in order to entertain LFC supporters.
“I said it a few times and I can say it again, I really think the most important thing for football – the most important job of football – is entertaining the people, because it’s only football, it’s nothing else,” he explained.
“We don’t save lives, we don’t create anything, we are not good in surgeries, we are only good in football. If we would not entertain the people, why would we play it then?
“That’s really an important thing and that’s why we have to try to create constantly or as often as possible. Pep’s teams are best in that and I can admit that easily because it’s so obvious and we are not bad in a few other things.”
Injury Report/Match Preview: go to this link
Liverpool Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Kickoff Time/TV: Sunday October 7, 4:30 pm, Sky Sports
Odds via Paddy Power: Manchester City 13/8 Draw 5/2 Liverpool 6/4
Prediction: Liverpool 4, Manchester City 3
Feel free to post your own City and/or Liverpool starting XI predictions, as well as your best guess as to what the final score will be. Enjoy the match!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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