A win for Jurgen Klopp's
side on Sunday at the
Etihad Stadium will push
them up to third place,
overtaking their hosts by
two points Liverpool, still undefeated
against the top-six this season,
will want to continue that streak
when they take on Manchester
City on Sunday as they chase a
top-four finish. Jurgen Klopp’s side have taken
19 points from a possible 27 in
nine matches played against
top-six opposition – including a
1-0 win at home against City in
December. A Liverpool win at the Etihad
Stadium will push them up to
third place, overtaking their
hosts by two points. As it stands, The Reds have
accumulated 55 points from
their 28 matches and are on
course for Champions League
qualification, while City sit
above them with 56 points from 27. But a positive result against Pep
Guardiola’s side would prove to
be even more meaningful for
Liverpool, given that the Anfield
club has had an alarmingly
inconsistent season. While City are currently
enjoying an 11-game unbeaten
run, Liverpool have won just
four of their last 14 outings
across all competitions. But their form seems to be on
the up. After a 3-1 away defeat
to struggling defending
champions Leicester City,
Liverpool bounced back with a
3-1 home win over Arsenal and followed it up with a 2-1 win
against Burnley – the first time
the Merseyside club have
managed two back-to-back
wins in 2017. Liverpool have been hampered
by injuries, however. Influential
captain Jordan Henderson will
miss the tie with a foot injury,
along with Daniel Sturridge
(calf), Ovie Ejaria (ankle), Danny Ings (knee) and Adam
Bogdan (ACL). Roberto Firmino
is a doubt because of a thigh
injury, though he did recently
attend a light training session. Centre back Dejan Lovren,
meanwhile, is back to full
fitness ahead of the trip to
Manchester, after playing a full
hour for the U-23 team. The
Croatian has missed out on his side’s last five matches, which
included defeats to Hull City
and Leicester City. Vincent Kompany is likely to
miss out for Man City while
Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay
Gundogan are long-term
absentees. The hosts enter the
tie on the back of a strong Premier League run, winning
four of their last five matches. However, City will have to cope
with returning to action just
days after a gruelling
Champions League clash in
Monaco. This should be a very
interesting game tactically, with
Jurgen Klopp known to favour
an intensive, high-pressing
game which would put Man
City’s approach of playing out from the back under pressure. Man City, having lost their
Champions League Round of
16 tie against AS Monaco, will
be desperate to hold on to that
top-four place. All eyes will be
on Etihad this weekend!
