Unsettled Man City ready to welcome new champions Liverpool (2020-07-02)

Former English Premier League champions Manchester City will face the newly crowned champions Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.

The match has no significance in terms of the league campaign as the Reds have already secured the title after City faced defeat against Chelsea in their previous outing.

In this match, the home team will come as second favorites despite winning four of their last six matches, which included two defeats as well, largely because of their league standing where they are placed on the second position with 63 points after 31 matches.

On the other hand, the new Premier League champions will enter the match as favorites after clinching their first league title in three decades.

Liverpool’s recent form will give manager Jurgen Klopp a lot of hope as his team have managed to secure four wins in their last six matches which included just a single defeat which is also their only defeat in the campaign till now.

On the table, Liverpool are placed at the very top with remarkable 86 points after 31 matches and now just need 15 more in their last seven matches to register the highest-ever tally of points in the history of Premier League.

Head-to-Head:

Liverpool and Man City have a long history of matches where they’ve competed 47 times in all competitions.

Liverpool clearly have a superior record compared to Manchester City in those outings as they’ve managed to secure 23 wins compared to just eight defeats whereas 16 matches ended as a draw.

In the meeting earlier in the league campaign in November 2019, it was Liverpool who came out on top with the score of 3-1, courtesy goals from Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

However, in the previous meeting at the same venue where the Thursday’s encounter will be played, it was City who came out on top with the score of 2-1 in January 2019, courtesy goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane

Players to watch out for:

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

Kevin De Bruyne is termed by many as the best midfielder currently playing in the world of football and the Belgium international is clearly doing all he can to back that claim.

The 29-year-old is having an outstanding season for the former Premier League champions where he already has 10 goals and 16 assists to his name in just 27 league appearances.

In the absence of veteran striker Sergio Aguero who is set to miss the game due to an injury, manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping that his star midfielder will once again rise to the occasion and produce the goods for his team against the toughest opposition in the campaign.

Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

Sadio Mane has been a Liverpool’s star performer ever since he has joined the club in the summer of 2016 form league rivals Southampton.

In the ongoing campaign, the Senegal international is the second-highest scorer for the club in the league with 15 goals and also has seven assists to his name.

Therefore, manager Klopp will be hoping that his pacey forward will be able to produce the goods and help his team in securing a celebratory win against City on Tuesday.