It's rare to talk about a team's chances to win the Premier Title this early in the season, but here we are. In an unlikely fashion, Manchester City is losing games left and right, regardless of the competition. They are on a six-match winless run, a feat that never occurred during the Pep Guardiola years. There's the first time for everything, but no one had this on their bingo card.
In the wake of Rodri's Ballon d'Or triumph and his injury that followed, it turned out he was more than deserving of winning the award, considering how vital he was for both club and country. Yet, no one saw that a team such as Manchester City with a football expert such as Pep at the helm would fall apart without his presence. Yet, they did.
Man City is a bleeding fish in a pool full of piranhas. Other teams can smell the blood, and in the last month or so, Tottenham managed to beat them twice. Now, they have Liverpool on their schedule, and things are looking grim. A visit to Anfield is never easy, no matter how good your form, and this might be the worst moment for Man City to have to travel to Liverpool.
The Reds are on fire and firing on all cylinders. Led by the unstoppable Mo Salah, Liverpool is looking just fine despite Jurgen Klopp's departure earlier this summer. The new man leading the team, Arne Slot, took the reins over in a transition no one had seen coming so smoothly. Because of Liverpool's excellent form and City's falling apart, many people believe that the title race might be over if The Citizens lose this duel.
Everything is still more than open, but we will review both teams' recent form, squad strength, and upcoming fixtures to get a clearer picture. When it's all said and done, we will make a few predictions for the derby scheduled for December 1st. Let's see where Manchester City is at the moment.
Manchester City's downfall or momentary lapse of reason?
Manchester City is having one of the strangest seasons in recent memory. The year started well for them, winning the Community Shield over their city rivals. When the season started, they were winning at will, losing points only to Inter, Arsenal, and Newcastle, with all three games ending in a draw. The match that potentially sealed their faith for this year was the draw against Arsenal in September that saw Rodri tearing his ACL. In a few matches that followed, City continued winning almost all of their games, but then came Tottenham. An EFL Cup match that held little value was lost at home, and the situation quickly escalated.
What followed were four consecutive losses against Bournemouth, Sporting Lisbon, Brighton, and Tottenham again, and a strange draw against Feyenoord, where they held a 3:0 lead only to end the match in a draw. Yes, Rodri is missing due to injury, but Haaland is a man MIA. Big names such as Bernardo Silva or KDB are often injured or need to play up to standards. Their midfield needs to be stronger, with Kovacic and Lewis getting big minutes.
The worst part is that their defence is leaking all over the place. Kyle Walker is past his best, and we're looking at his last season as Man City's starter at RB. Stones, Dias, and Gvardiol, look like players who just started playing together and need time to gel. Ederson, once the best goalkeeper in the world, is now looking closer to Saudi Arabia than ever. Yes, there is a lot of time to change their fortunes this year, but most of it depends on the duel against Liverpool on December 1st.
Manchester City will have to find them sooner rather than later, as their schedule is not getting more accessible. In December, they will have it congested to the max. After Liverpool, City will host Nottingham Forest before travelling to London to face Crystal Palace. After that 'easier' stretch, they will have duels against Juventus in the CL, Aston Villa, and their fiercest rivals, Manchester United. If you have an account at Stake.com, this might be a wise moment to bet on City to win the PL, as their odds are at an all-time high, considering the circumstances. But Pep knows how to play winning football and how to win titles. We all remember the last part of City's season and their April and May games. Just don't forget, this is not a safe bet.
Former Manchester City ace Sergio Aguero also believes that the title race is far from over. The diminutive Argentine was quick to remind everyone that the situation was similar back in the 2011/12 season and that City still came victorious at the end despite trailing 8 points behind their city rivals. Kun added that if City comes out victorious from Anfiled, the title race remains open.
The former Atletico man also said that if there's one person who can motivate his team, it is Pep Guardiola. The two men worked together for a while in Manchester, and when tough defeats came, Pep knew how to talk to these players and motivate them. The injuries have piled up, and soon enough, the Spaniard will learn how to work around them, claims Aguero. He also believes that Rodri's absence is irreplaceable but that De Bruyne is coming back from an injury, and from the moment he gets into a groove, everything will be better for City.
As far as other teams are concerned, Aguero is well aware that City has more title rivals than just Liverpool and sees Arsenal as a severe threat after the Gunners came back with a few wins after a sloppy start and few injuries to their key players. At the moment, Aguero sees this season as a three-horse race, believing that Chelsea can become a contender in years to come, but it's far from that level. If you want to read more thoughts from the mouth of the former Man City and Barcelona ace, read this exclusive interview with Sergio Aguero.
Now that City's slow start to the season is behind us let's look at what Liverpool has been doing.
Liverpool's meteoric start and title aspirations from the get-go
Liverpool has been City's biggest rival in the last decade. The rivalry between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola translated well from their Bundesliga days, and the Citizens and the Reds had a superb rivalry on all levels. In the last ten years, both teams have won the PL and CL trophies. Yes, City was the more successful side, but the rivalry was as good as it got.
Once Jurgen Klopp went to coaching retirement, everyone believed that Liverpool's glory days were over. It's still early to talk about the continuing success of the new manager. Still, Arne Slot was nothing less than a revelation. The Dutch expert took the team that Klopp left and made them better. It was hard to believe they would play better, but they did. Klopp didn't leave a team in shambles, but he prepared everything for his successor and handpicked the one.
The Reds still play attacking and free-flowing football and look more dangerous than ever on the counter. Mo Salah is in the best form of his life and is tearing the league up, forcing Liverpool to seriously consider his contract renewal. After twelve rounds, The Reds have 31 points after winning ten matches, drawing one, and only losing to Nottingham Forest. Also, it is worth mentioning that their only draw was with Arsenal. It is rare to see a new manager doing so well so early on, but Slot is doing it and claims he can do even better.
The Reds are also excellent in the CL, winning all their matches so far. They're one of the title favourites from the start of the season; they're showing that they mean business. At the moment, they have eight points more than Manchester City and nine more than Arsenal and Chelsea. If they win, an eleven-point gap between them and City would mean that they are already one step closer to the title, as that kind of difference would be hard to top, and they'd be giving City their fourth consecutive league defeat.
Considering the forms of both teams, it is hard to look past Liverpool as a favourite to win this one. After all, they feature the league's second-best attack with 24 goals but the league's best defence with only eight conceded. Virgil van Dijk appears to be the world's best CB, and when surrounded by Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, they have a defence that's good on both sides of the field, especially in dead-ball situations.
We should save words on how good Salah has been as we have nothing to describe what the Pharaoh has done this year. Surrounded by top talent in Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Chiesa, you never know from where the danger threatens. But, at the moment, Liverpool's biggest strength might be their midfield. With the likes of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Wataru, Mac Allister, Jones, and Elliott, they can dominate any game from the midfield. Add that Allison is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world when healthy, and you get a team that can go far.
The next four matches for Liverpool are far from easy. These matches can be make-or-break time for the Reds and put their title aspirations to sleep if they drop too many points. If they win, we could be speaking about the new English champions.
Manchester City at Liverpool - who will win?
The season is long, and talking about the title race might be early. But, considering the current situation, the position of both teams on the table, and their current form, it might play a deciding role this early on.
If we're looking at it from the bookmakers' side, Liverpool is the favourite to win this one. Their odds stand at 2.1 while betting on City pays by 3.3 odds. The draw has the highest odds set at 3.5. As you can see, while Liverpool is favoured, it is slightly different. Yet, the Reds are the safe bet.
They play at home, and we all know Anfield is a fortress. While Pep Guardiola is a good coach and one of the best in the world, he can't perform miracles. His City team is falling apart. He can't turn their fortunes this year. The team is ready to be revamped. Players such as Kyle Walker, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, and even KDB are off the level necessary to dominate the PL as Pep is used to. Yes, he won games in every club, but at the price of the most expensive players and the most considerable wages and transfer budgets. He's lost his precious Rodri, and Phil Foden is less than half the player he was last year. Pair it with Haaland being out of form, and you will get a recipe for disaster. While Savinho and Doku are trying to make a difference, they still need to be on the same level to make the difference they need.
Across them, they will find a motivated Liverpool team eager to prove themselves, with a new coach and a chance to write history. Yes, the title race will remain open weeks after this match is over, but as far as Sunday's match is concerned, we can't look past Liverpool winning it.
