PREVIEW: Man City aim to keep pace in title race with first Anfield win since 2021 | OneFootball

Two Premier League giants will clash this weekend when Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City find themselves four places and eight points above their opponents in the Premier League table, however they have not won at Anfield since their 4-1 win there in February 2021. There was no crowd that day due to COVID-19 restrictions still being in place – and a Pep Guardiola Manchester City side has never beaten Liverpool in front of a crowd on Merseyside.

City’s last win in front of the famous Anfield atmosphere came all the way back in 2002.

Both sides are coming into this one off the back of victories over Newcastle, with Liverpool picking up a 4-1 win against the Magpies in the Premier League last weekend, and Manchester City beating them 3-1 on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg to secure their spot in the final at Wembley against Arsenal next month.

Despite a rocky start to the season, Liverpool have seen their form turn around recently as they have only lost one of their last 12 league outings: a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth with the Cherries netting a 95th minute winner.

This run of form has seen the reigning Premier League champions climb their way back up the table and towards a Champions League spot, though they are still well out of the title picture.

Meanwhile, Manchester City have remained as consistent as ever, only losing five league games so far this term and just one since mid-November. In Europe, both sides progressed through the league phase of the Champions League and straight into the round of 16, with Liverpool finishing third and City eighth.

Two key players coming into this Anfield clash are Florian Wirtz and Antoine Semenyo, with the new signings making a splash at their respective clubs. Whilst Wirtz took a while to get going in a Liverpool shirt after signing in the summer, we are now starting to see the best of him as he’s picked up four goals and an assist in league action since Christmas.

Meanwhile, Semenyo has shown no signs of the big stage daunting him, having continued his superb form since joining in January, finding the net four times in a blue shirt already. The Ghanaian winger also bagged a brace at Anfield for Bournemouth in the opening game of this Premier League season.

Upon meeting the media ahead of Sunday’s clash, Arne Slot has confirmed that defender Jeremie Frimpong will miss out through injury as his groin issue that kept him out against Newcastle last weekend is not yet resolved.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola announced that defensive pair Ruben Dias and John Stones are back in contention for their trip to Merseyside.

Speaking on Arne Slot and Liverpool, the Spaniard said: “They remain an exceptional team. A top class manager and an exceptional team, no doubt.”

The match will take place on Sunday 8th February, with kick-off scheduled for 16:30 GMT.