Who makes Liverpool vs Man City combined XI ahead of title showdown?
Ruben Dias is the rock in central defence and Mohamed Salah gets the nod ahead of Gabriel Jesus up front… but who else makes the combined Liverpool vs Man City XI ahead of crunch title showdown at Anfield?
- Liverpool face rivals Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday in a crunch clash
- The reigning champions are currently seven points adrift, sitting in fourth
- City have a game in hand and have won each of their last nine league matches
- Sportsmail looks at the men in form to select a joint XI from the players available
All is quiet right now on Merseyside, but there is an underlying tension in the air.
The biggest game of the Premier League season is approaching, as Jurgen Klopp’s reigning champions go up against the men they usurped.
Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for an English title in such brutal fashion last season that Pep Guardiola’s mercurial City were simply blown away and left licking their wounds.
Now, the tables have turned. Injuries have ravaged the Reds and Klopp has been forced to completely rearrange his team.
Midfielders now play in defence and January deadline day signings are yet to be integrated into the matchday squad. Points, naturally, have been ebbing away as a result.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola meet for the tie which will have huge bearing on the title race
City will arrive at Anfield in red hot form, having won each of their last nine Premier League games in a blistering run.
They can make it 10 in a row against the champions, while also potentially inflicting a third consecutive home defeat upon Klopp’s men which seemed impossible only a few weeks ago.
Losing to Burnley saw Liverpool bring a record 68-game home run to an end, and subsequent dropped points to Manchester United and Brighton mean the Reds are now seven points adrift of leaders City, who also have a game in hand.
So, with the huge showdown looming, which players make a combined XI? Both sides are packed with superstars, yet some are in hotter form than others, while several star names will be missing out through injury. Sportsmail examines…
Liverpool/Manchester City XI (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
The Brazilian stopper was absent in Liverpool’s recent defeat to Brighton due to illness, and his team suffered dearly as a result.
Liverpool’s defensive crisis has been heavily highlighted this season with each of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and bizarrely Joel Matip all ruled out for the season.
Klopp’s team, however, haven’t exactly been shipping goals as a result. The problems have been more geared towards the opposite end of the pitch instead.
Liverpool’s very makeshift defence is still carrying out its defensive duties, and this is massively down to Alisson.
Liverpool are sweating on the return of Alisson, who has held the defence together this season
Stats show the Brazilian to once again be leading the way when it comes to saves executed and xG (expected goals) denied.
It has to be recognised that City stopper Ederson is also having a remarkable season, and leads the way when it comes to clean sheets (13).
The City man has however played 20 matches this season, compared to Alisson’s 18.
If, as expected, Alisson recovers from illness in time to take to the field on Sunday, he completely shifts the dimension of the game for Liverpool and injects confidence from the back. For this reason, the big Brazilian takes the gloves.
Right back: Joao Cancelo
Since being switched to right back this season the Portugal star has really carved out a role for himself.
Cancelo looks fitter this season, and is certainly benefiting from a sustained run of appearances.
Now, after finding his footing and earning the trust of Guardiola, the Premier League is seeing the attacking intent and impressive trickery with which the 26-year-old made a name for himself with at Juventus.
After a positional switch and a run of games, Joao Cancelo is now looking very impressive
The main surprise here is that Cancelo gets in ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool full back has been so good for so long that people often forget how young he is.
This season however, so far, Alexander-Arnold has struggled. Disruption to the Liverpool back line has left the 22-year-old more exposed and with less freedom to bomb forward.
The forward line has also been impacted by the same butterfly effect, meaning Alexander-Arnold’s trademark crosses haven’t recently been having the same devastating effect.
The England star must regain top level soon, if Liverpool are to have any chance of turning things around.
Centre back: John Stones
Nobody saw this transformation coming.
Stones looked completely down and out, with his City career all but over.
Last season he made errors, lacked confidence and generally gave off the air of a player who had lost his ways.
The arrival of Ruben Dias, to partner Aymeric Laporte, looked to be the final nail in the coffin for Stones, who has also sustained plenty of injuries in recent years.
John Stones has presented the comeback story of the season after turning fortunes around
Yet Stones had other ideas. His performances throughout the campaign so far, deputising for the absent Laporte, has seen him earn plaudits all over.
He looks like the solid player City had always hoped he would become, while remaining composed on the ball and helping the team play out quickly from the back.
Stones is unbeaten with City so far this season in the league, with 11 wins from his 12 appearances. He’s added goals, too, having hit the back of the net on two occasions.
Centre back: Ruben Dias
Dias has been a revelation, and he signing was a gamble City are oh so pleased about.
Guardiola had rued a hole in the centre of his defence, and had a feeling it would be an issue ever since the departure of former captain Vincent Kompany.
After Fernandinho slotted in at the back for large parts of last season, Guardiola moved in the transfer market for the big man from Benfica.
Ruben Dias has slotted effortlessly into Premier League life and remained solid each week
Dias has taken to the Premier League effortlessly.
He looks at one with both the pace and physicality, while his large frame is always a threat in the opposition box.
The potential of facing a sharp trident of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane could be the ultimate test, but Liverpool’s attackers really must up their game for this to be a possibility.
Left back: Andy Robertson
For as much as Liverpool’s disjointed defence has stuttered, Scotland captain Robertson has powered through.
Game after game he brings his relentless work-rate and aggressive counter attacking for Liverpool.
It’s clear the former Hull man is desperate for his side to retain their trademark ruthless edge, but frustration is naturally creeping in when a shuffled Liverpool side cannot match last season’s heroics.
Andy Robertson’s performance levels have been sky-high this season despite team struggles
The danger for Robertson is burnout. Klopp is fielding his trusted lieutenant every single match, and personally noted how many of his stars were mentally fatigued in the recent loss to Brighton.
Liverpool very often rally against the biggest opponents, and Robertson will no doubt be leading the charge on Sunday.
Midfield: Ilkay Gundogan
Gundogan has proven that when fully fit, he can be one of the best midfielders in the world.
This will come as no surprise to Klopp on Sunday, given the German used his compatriot at the heart of his Borussia Dortmund glory spell earlier in their careers.
Gundogan has been a metronome this season, maintaining and adjusting the tempo while weighing in with goals and assists.
In the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, he will be the man Liverpool have to keep all eyes upon.
Ilkay Gundogan has proven his worth his season and has put together an injury-free run
Midfield: Georginio Wijnaldum
Liverpool’s midfield cannot be compared to that of last season, yet only one constant remains.
That is Wijnaldum; the man who is very likely set to leave Anfield at the end of the season as a free agent.
Klopp adores the Dutchman, and values his versatility above all else.
Georginio Wijnaldum is an ever-present in the Klopp midfield and fills a variety of roles
Wijnaldum’s skill-set means he can be deployed in a variety of roles, with recent matches seeing him as the deepest sitting defender to allow summer signing Thiago Alcantara to pull the strings higher up the field.
It worked majestically against Tottenham, and Klopp desperately needs Wijnaldum to bring his consistency to the Anfield showdown and spark a chain of events which lead to victory.
Midfield: Phil Foden
The perfect example of grasping an opportunity with both hands.
Foden is one of the most talented players English football has produced in the last decade.
It has been infuriating for many to see Foden limited to such few opportunities in recent years, while the likes of Mason Mount broke through at Chelsea and Jadon Sancho rocketed onto the scene with Dortmund.
Foden was personally promised, by Guardiola, that his chance would come.
Phil Foden has take his chance with both hands and burst onto the scene this season
Now, following the departure of club legend David Silva, Foden is right in the thick of the starting XI.
What’s more, he doesn’t look in the slightest out of place.
A prolonged period of training with the senior stars looks to have done Foden the world of good, and he has been one of the brightest shining stars for Guardiola this season.
Forward: Raheem Sterling
Sterling has always found it tough coming up against his former side, but especially at Anfield with Liverpool fans continuing to give him stick on his return to Merseyside.
But Sterling’s move to City has more than paid off and he is one of the most fearsome attackers in world football right now, and will certainly play an important role if Guardiola’s men are to clinch the title at the end of the season.
Raheem Sterling will be desperate to land a knockout blow to Liverpool’s title aspirations
Sterling heads into Sunday’s clash in confident mood, getting on the scoresheet as City overcame Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor during the week.
While he hasn’t been at his blistering best this season, the England international still has seven goals and four assists in the Premier League.
How he would love to finally get on the scoresheet against his former club, and land a knockout blow to their slim title aspirations.
Forward: Mohamed Salah
Many people will happily suggest that Salah isn’t having the best of seasons. Those same people should, however, take a quick peak at the Premier League scoring charts.
The Egyptian is there, once again, sitting comfortably at the top.
Like many of the greats in world football, Salah is a victim of his own success. The benchmark he has set himself is so impossibly high, that nobody knows what should be deemed ‘normal’ anymore.
Mohamed Salah has proven he only needs a split second to turn the game on its head
Sure, in games this season the Liverpool man has been blunted. In others he has been electric.
Sometimes it only takes the smallest of windows for Salah to burst into life.
His cameo appearance at Crystal Palace made it seem like he was playing against boys, while in the FA Cup against Manchester United his sublime chip set him a class apart from the rest.
Salah leads the line here, and will lead the headlines after the game on Sunday if City cannot quickly nullify him.
Forward: Sadio Mane
Mane has struggled for form this season, but still has seven Premier League goals and three assists to his name.
In all competitions he has 10 goals, with five assists.
With his pace, positional awareness and brute strength, Mane is very often an attacker, who opposition teams allocate two players to handle.
Sadio Mane is impossible to mark when on top form, and returns on Sunday rested and ready
City can ill-afford to do that at Anfield, if they are to avoid Liverpool dictating the game.
Once Mane is on the ball, he’s devilishly tough to get off. Magnetic footwork only promotes his cause, and often results in misery for Liverpool’s opponents.
The Senegal star has been left out of the two previous matchday squads against West Ham and Brighton, meaning Liverpool want him rested and perfectly primed for this make-or-break showdown.
Take a look at Sportsmail’s full composite XI, below…
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