Man City vs Liverpool preview, live streaming & TV listings from 170+ countries to watch on November 8, 2020

November 8, 2020 By Ali M.

Topics: TV Schedules, Manchester City, Liverpool, English Premier League

The two biggest teams in England lock horns on Sunday. Who will win this Etihad Stadium clash? Live Soccer TV's match preview provides team news, global broadcast listings, and match facts for Man City vs Liverpool.

Preview – Man City vs Liverpool

Man City and Liverpool are gearing up for a highly-anticipated Sunday showdown, with the Citizens set to host the reigning champions. Despite some early bumps in the season, these two clubs remain the most-talented sides in England and remain the safest bets for the title. As a result, their upcoming encounter could prove crucial in the race to win the Premier League crown.

As of the time of writing this preview, Klopp's side are level on points with Southampton at the top of the table, though the Saints are ahead on goal difference. The shocking 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa and the loss of Virgil van Dijk had everyone believing the defending champions would be exposed. That has not happened since the 2-2 draw with Everton, with the Merseyside giants winning all of their following five games since, conceding only two goals and registering three clean sheets.

However, none of those fixtures were against a European giant. Their showdown with Man City will be the first ultimate test in the absence of Van Dijk. Fortunately for the Reds, they are facing a Citizens side with many issues of their own, the biggest being their form – De Bruyne and Co. have won only three of their opening six games this season.

The Etihad Stadium side have dropped seven points from a possible 18. The club endured a horrendous start to the campaign, which can be blamed on several issues ranging from a lack of pre-season and injuries. COVID-19 also took its toll, with Mahrez, Gundogan, and Laporte all contracting the virus. The absence of the French center-back left Pep's back-line exposed, hence their 5-2 defeat at home to Leicester, but the addition of Ruben Dias looks to have remedied that issue.

Then there were the injuries to Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. Guardiola has been without a senior no.9 for too many games, with his two deadly South American strikers being out for good portions of the season. The Brazilian is fit and should feature against Liverpool but do not expect him to be back to his best. His Argentine counterpart should return after the international break.

Victory over Liverpool would be great for the home side. Not only would it propel them back into the mold, but it would blow an already open title race even wider. Despite this, Pep was quick to downplay the importance of Sunday's clash in the grand scheme of things, saying: It's an important game, but like the presidential elections in the United States of America, all the votes must be counted."

Team news

Man City: Sergio Aguero has been ruled out, with Pep confirming this game comes too soon for the Argentine. Gabriel Jesus made a goalscoring comeback in the UCL and should start in this fixture. Benjamin Mendy and Fernandinho are also on the sidelines.

Liverpool: It's well known that Van Dijk is out for this game – and possibly the remainder of the season – but he isn't the only absentee for the Reds. Neither Thiago nor Fabinho will be present due to injuries. Joel Matip, however, could return. Meanwhile, Diogo Jota, the hat-trick hero from the 5-0 win over Atalanta, is fit after picking up a slight knock in that UEFA Champions League victory. Whether he will start ahead of Firmino remains unknown.

Key stats

Man City will be looking to win a fourth consecutive home game vs Liverpool for the first time since March 1937.
The Citizens have won their last three home league games against the Reds by an aggregate score of 11-1.
No manager has won more games against Pep Guardiola than Jurgen Klopp (8).
City have won nine of their last 10 games vs the reigning champions (L1).
Liverpool have the second-worst defensive record heading into this tie, having conceded 15 times (Leeds have conceded 17). They had the outright worst record prior to this Matchday kicking off.