Premier League: Clash in Manchester as City and Liverpool look to cut into Gunners’ lead
by Joseph King
Golden opportunity to get right back into title race
A match of seismic proportions gets underway at the Etihad Stadium in the late kickoff on Sunday’s Premier League slate. It’s a proper match to send us off into the international break and one that promises plenty of drama.
Arsenal have emerged as the early frontrunners for the title and the question on everyone’s lips is: will it be Liverpool or Manchester City as the team to step up as the main challenger? This matchup is sure to help paint a better picture in that regard. First off, a refresher on how things stand following Saturday’s matches:
Premier League standings
| Position | Team | Matches played | Record (W-D-L) | Goal differential | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arsenal | 11 | 8-2-1 | +15 | 26 |
| 2. | Chelsea | 11 | 6-2-3 | +10 | 20 |
| 3. | Man City | 10 | 6-1-3 | +12 | 19 |
| 4. | Sunderland | 11 | 5-4-2 | +4 | 19 |
| 5. | Tottenham | 11 | 5-3-3 | +9 | 18 |
| 6. | Liverpool | 10 | 6-0-4 | +4 | 18 |
It’s been a highly-entertaining competitive rivalry between these two sides over the years with the Klopp vs Guardiola era producing some riveting matches of football. Klopp had shown a knack for getting the better of the revered Catalan tactician in their head-to-head duels, although it was Guardiola that would ultimately have the last laugh, lifting six Premier League titles to Klopp’s one. Arne Slot, meanwhile, bested Guardiola on both occasions in the 2024-25 campaign, winning both home and away with a 2-0 scoreline.
Sunday marks Pep’s 1,000th match as a football manager, 550 of which will have been in charge of Manchester City. He would like no better way to celebrate the milestone with what could be a pivotal three points.
What’s at stake?
With Arsenal being denied the full three points thanks to a Brian Brobbey stoppage-time equalizer, the door has swung open for either Manchester City or Liverpool to close the gap on the league leaders. The problem for both fanbases is that only one side can win, while a shared point won’t do either of these teams much good. As for Arsenal fans, it’s quite clear: a draw here would be the ideal result.
A win for City would see them continue their strong run of form and cut Arsenal’s lead to just four points. The hosts have won six of their last seven and the attack is purring at the moment, netting 10 goals in the last three appearances.
For the Reds, they’re searching for their third straight win. Victory over an in-form Manchester City side at the Etihad would show to the league that the defending champions are well and truly back after a difficult run in October. Should Liverpool walk away with all three points, they would move within five points of the Gunners. See what our experts think in our Manchester City vs Liverpool prediction!
Matchup to watch: Van Dijk vs Haaland
Who else could it have been? The Dutch rock at the back has come under some criticism this season with some suggesting that the Liverpool captain might be past his best. He’ll have a brilliant opportunity to prove that he’s still one of the very top centre backs in the world when he faces off against the in-form striker in world football at the moment. Van Dijk has guided his Liverpool side to successive clean sheets, one of which was against the high-powered Real Madrid – a match where they gave up just 0.45 expected goals and only one clear cut chance.
Leading the charge for the hosts will be Erling Haaland, who has been simply spellbinding this season with his mix of brute force power, speed and innate finishing ability. He’s been putting his team on his back, with an almost comically disproportionate amount of his team’s goals. He’s found the net 13 times in the Premier League, while City’s next highest league scorers have just one goal.
