Liverpool v Manchester City: Premier League tactical preview
One day we will look back on this era of the Premier League as a battle between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, a rivalry as intense and dramatic as the peak years of Sir Alex Ferguson versus Arsene Wenger in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
It has been one of the great stories of English football history and there may yet be plenty more pages to be written.
But however the story unfolds, Sunday’s game at Anfield could be a hinge moment; a catalyst for change, a swing in power, an ending.
There is a universe in which Liverpool win, restore some order to their wretched domestic campaign and – in the long run – kick-start an ascent back towards title challenges under Klopp. There is also a universe in which Manchester City record their first victory at Anfield since Klopp’s arrival, emphatically ending Liverpool’s title chances and causing lasting damage.
Those are the two extremes, of course, but looking back on five years of Klopp versus Guardiola in England you’d be hard pushed to find a league meeting that wasn’t symbolic of a wider power shift.
Sunday’s meeting has all the hallmarks of a classic. Liverpool are in their worst form of the Klopp era and although a desperately unlucky run of injuries is largely to blame there are murmurs that his project may have reached the same exhaustion point that saw the walls crumble at Borussia Dortmund. City, meanwhile, are on a 13-game winning streak and look to have fully recovered from an identity crisis that lasted nearly 18 months.
Whatever the result, it will feel portentous; it will be loaded with narrative meaning, real or imagined.
New centre-backs could lift confused Liverpool
Ben Davies was on the bench for Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton, a game in which the sluggishness of Klopp’s central midfield reached a new nadir and young defender Rhys Williams made a telling mistake.
After that result it is surely time to get Jordan Henderson back into the middle of park, where the captain’s energy can lift them out of this slump. After all, the main reason Liverpool have struggled to score goals lately is the absence of the two midfielders (Henderson and Fabinho) who keep them camped in the opposition half to sustain attacks.
And there is a particularly good reason to make the switch on Sunday, given that Liverpool’s strategy of pumping long passes over the top of the Manchester City defence has shown promise in each of their last two meetings – despite the scorelines.
Henderson’s ability to clip balls over the City defence for Mohamed Salah will be crucial to ensuring the hosts are not pinned back for long periods.
With Fabinho and Henderson in midfield, Liverpool may be able to create an even contest, and yet even in this scenario there are alarming issues for Klopp, mainly that Sadio Mane’s continued absence means too much pressure is on Salah winning his one-on-one with the left-back.
Injuries mean Klopp is unable to play the 4-2-4 that led to a 1-1 draw with Man City earlier in the season, and back in a familiar narrow 4-3-3 that should give Guardiola the advantage in targeting the wide areas.
Imperious defence and in-form Gundogan
The main tactical reason to predict a Man City victory is the difference in cohesion, assertiveness, and confidence in the two camps. City are back to the high-tempo positional switching and unplayable possession football that characterised them between 2017 and 2019.
Against Burnley, they were loosely playing in a shape-shifting 3-1-3-3 as Joao Cancelo joined Ilkay Gundogan in midfield, Rodri supported behind them, and Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling hugged the touchlines.
The sheer number of bodies in central areas, constantly flitting to fill in for each other, meant Man City easily passed through Burnley before suddenly switching the play to a winger with one diagonal pass.
They won’t be this adventurous at Anfield, but nevertheless their synchronising is enough for Liverpool fans to fear the worst. Cancelo’s role in midfield and Gundogan’s exceptional form should ensure City dominate the centre of the park, pressing successfully onto hesitant Liverpool players and capitalising on the differing levels of self-belief.
The confusion at Liverpool and the flexibility at Man City makes it very difficult to accurately predict the line-ups or the tactical battle plans of either side. But whatever shape this match takes, it seems highly probable that the hosts won’t find the fluency they need to get behind the City back-line - as the visitors pass crisply through a makeshift Liverpool 11.
Liverpool have won five of their last 14 games in all competitions; have picked up nine points from their last eight Premier League matches; and have lost back-to-back games at Anfield. Manchester City have won 13 consecutive matches.
Their trajectories could hardly be more different. The stage is set for another defining moment in the Klopp-Guardiola saga.
Follow Sporting Life on social - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC
Related football content
MOST READ FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TIPS
