The first Manchester City game of the guilty verdict era commences on Sunday, and fittingly enough, it is at Liverpool. With all this talk about whether Man City’s Premier League titles are tainted or not, it’s very coincidental that the first clash since the big news broke comes against the team that most closely battled them for all those trophies. Honestly, we can never look at the City-Liverpool rivalry quite the same anymore. However, that is a much larger discussion for another time and place. For now, let’s look at what kind of starting lineup we might see this weekend, with both Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo passed fit to feature.
Liverpool vs Manchester City FYIs
Kick: Sun. Oct 11, 4:30pm, Anfield, Liverpool, UK
Team News: Liverpool FC Manchester City
Predicted Starting XIs: Liverpool FC Manchester City
Detailed Injury Updates: Liverpool FC Manchester City
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 35% Manchester City win 39% Draw 26%
Premier League Standing, Form: Liverpool 6th, 9 pts, DDWDW Manchester City 1st, 15 pts, WWWWW
Haaland provided an injury scare last weekend when he hobbled out of a Norway match early. However, he’s fine.
“He’s good,” City manager Enzo Maresca told the media today. He went to Marbella, had two or three days off, played golf.
“Had some recovery. He’s ready for Anfield.”
As for Semenyo, there was no official statement about his status in Maresca’s press conference, but he was in full training yesterday, which confirms that he’s recovered from the injury that forced him to withdraw from Ghana duty this past international break.
Manchester City Predicted XI at Liverpool
Gigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Josko Gvardiol; Elliott Anderson, Enzo Fernandez; Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku; Erling Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.