Liverpool’s only Premier League defeat so far this season was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest at Anfield. They’ve won seven of their eight league games since then (D1), scoring at least twice in seven of those games.

This will be Arne Slot’s first meeting with both Manchester City and their manager Pep Guardiola. None of Liverpool’s last six managers have lost their first ever league meeting with England’s reigning champions (W4 D2), since Roy Evans’ 1-0 loss to Manchester United in 1993-94.

As well as having the most goals and assists combined in the Premier League this season (16), Mohamed Salah’s goal involvements have also been worth a league-high 17 points to Liverpool this term.

These two sides have met 182 times in the past, with Liverpool winning 83, City winning 49, and 50 ending as draws. Last season, both matches ended in 1-1 draws.

Over the last five games, Liverpool have won one, two have ended level, and City have won two.

The last time Liverpool beat City was in October 2022.

Arne Slot liked what he heard and then what he saw. He had tuned in on Tuesday. He had a personal and a professional interest when his former club visited his next opponents. “What made this game special for me was more sitting at home, putting the volume up and hearing the Feyenoord fans singing my name,” he said. “That’s the biggest compliment you can get if you leave a club, that the fans still like you.”

The team that Slot built then shocked the side he will face on Sunday. Manchester City were seemingly heading to Anfield this weekend with a restorative win. Then came a comeback for the ages and for the watching Slot: no side had been 3-0 down that late in a European Cup game and avoided defeat. “For me as a Feyenoord fan, I could hardly believe what I saw,” said Slot.

“At 3-1 you thought, ‘OK…’ but then City took control again. Then it was 3-2 and then 3-3. You don’t see this very often. It was the first time in the history of the Champions League this has happened.” It prompted Slot to get in touch with some old friends. “I spoke to more than a few people to congratulate them but it was not in a tactical manner,” he said.

Our reporter Richard Jolly is at Anfield with some insight into the team news:

Pep Guardiola’s team selection may have an element of punishment. Josko Gvardiol was at fault, to varying degrees, for Feyenoord’s first two goals, Ederson for the third. Both are dropped. If Ruben Dias’ return is the best news City have had for a while, Nathan Ake could have a huge job against Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Manchester City (D5 L3) – that 1-0 home victory in October 2022.

City have won just one of their last 21 Premier League away games against Liverpool (D7 L13), beating them 4-1 in February 2021. They’ve not won at Anfield with fans in attendance since May 2003 (2-1).

The away side has won just six of the 54 Premier League meetings between Liverpool and Manchester City, the lowest percentage of any fixture to be played more than 30 times in the competition (11 per cent).

This time the problem with Ilkay Gundogan was not when he was on the pitch but when he was off it. The treble-winning captain’s performance against Tottenham had felt a symbolically sad occasion, a match when the only thing he did quickly was decline. Three days later, Gundogan was exuding authority again, smoothly stylish when scoring one goal and helping set up another.

He was taken off, Pep Guardiola looking ahead to Sunday’s trip to Anfield, rationalising: “Ilkay is the only fit holding midfielder we have”. There were two flaws in his thinking. Firstly that Manchester City, 3-0 up against Feyenoord, contrived to draw 3-3 without the authority of a senior figure. The second is that Gundogan isn’t really a holding midfielder at all: a distributor can be a regista but he is more a constructive than a destructive presence. In his prime, he was a catalyst for City in the final third, not the middle third.

City’s midfield has been unusually porous since the injury to Rodri, and with Mateo Kovacic also out, Guardiola has lost his ‘natural’ replacement for the Spaniard. 

According to Opta Analyst, City have given up 17 shots following a fast-break situation in their matches without Rodri, compared to just seven with him. 

In comparison, Liverpool have had more shots from fast breaks (20) than any other team in the Premier League this season. 

In short, City are conceding good counter-attacking chances, while Liverpool tend to create them. 

England international Walker has been an illustration of City’s ageing squad so far this season, and struggled at times last week against Spurs – most notably for all to see when Timo Werner breezed past him on the way to setting up Spurs’ fourth. 

So how will the England right-back cope against the in-form Gakpo? 

The Dutchman has seven goals and two assists over 19 games so far this season, and while he has less pace to threaten on the attack, his other attributes mean he could prove a problem for the right-back. 

It was difficult to predict who Guardiola would deploy on the right wing today, but it looks like the Spaniard has gone with Foden, who may find a little more luck against Andy Robertson.

The Scot has been in mixed form of late, having given away a penalty in each of Liverpool’s last two games, and he could be the ‘weak’ link in an otherwise resolute defence.

Foden of course has the technical ability to cause Robertson some problems, but it may be that the more direct-minded Savinho was a better choice.

Mo Salah remains the Reds’ most effective attacking force, with 10 goals so far this season.

And today he comes up against Nathan Ake, with Josko Gvardiol having been dropped after being guilty of some defensive lapses of late.

The Dutchman will have to be at 100 per cent to contain Salah for the entire match – the winger has the most goals and assists combined in the Premier League this season, with 16, and these goals and assists have been worth a league-high 17 points to the Reds.