Haaland has had 54 shots on target across his 25 Premier League appearances this season (2.20 per 90) resulting in 19 goals for the Norwegian who is far and away City’s biggest goal threat, with Foden the next top scorer for City on just 7 goals in the Premier League this campaign. Haaland has had at least 1 shot on target across each of his last 5 Premier League appearances showing that he continues to be 1 of the most threatening strikers in the league and can trouble a Liverpool backline that have conceded 2 goals in each of their most recent Premier League away assignments against Everton and Aston Villa. Manchester City have remained a pretty reliable attacking force this season despite their issues in establishing an effective defensive structure, as evidenced by the fact that they’re averaging 6.1 shots on target per game in the Premier League this campaign, a record only bettered by their opponents here in the English top-flight. City’s home form has also been more consistent compared to their away performances, they’ve won 8 of their 12 assignments at the Etihad scoring 28 goals in the process - the joint-most in the division.

Gravenberch has been crucial to Liverpool’s push for the title this season, the majority of plaudits have gone to the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk but Gravenberch’s ability to operate in tight spaces as well as connect the solid backline and the dangerous front 4 has been pivotal in Liverpool controlling games this season. He’s won 36 fouls across his 26 Premier League appearances this season (1.45 per 90) which is an average that reflects his role in this Liverpool side. He usually wins fouls as a result of smart, sharp turns away from the opposition which leads to him being hacked down to stop Liverpool getting the ball forward quickly. Gravenberch has been fouled at least once in 4 of his last 5 Premier League games and could be crucial in deciding the game here. Manchester City have been vulnerable to being caught on the transition all season and there aren’t many teams better suited to exploit this than Liverpool, which should result in Gravenberch being hauled down at least once to limit the frequency of these lethal Liverpool counter-attacks.

Stefan Ortega was forced into making 5 saves in the initial meeting between these sides at Anfield earlier in the season. Liverpool have the most dangerous attacking line in the Premier League which can exploit Manchester City’s vulnerabilities to fast breaks this campaign. Ederson is expected to line up as City’s goalkeeper here, he’s having to make 2.31 saves per game in the Premier League this term which is a metric we can expect to rise here when looking at how often Liverpool test the opposition goalkeeper. Arne Slot’s side have drawn 3+ saves from their opponents in 18 of their 26 Premier League matches this season (69%) underlining how much of an attacking threat the Reds can pose Pep Guardiola’s side here. Manchester City’s goalkeeper has been forced into making 3+ saves in 6 of their last 10 Premier League games, it’ll be difficult for the Cityzens to contend with the depth of attacking quality at Liverpool’s disposal, a strength that has seen them average 6.5 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season - more than any other side in the division.

Liverpool have been shown 52 yellow cards across their 26 Premier League games this season (2.0 per game). Arne Slot’s side also rank high when it comes to fouls committed per game (11.7) showing that they can be aggressive with their press but a bit of frustration has been creeping in recently with dropped points against Aston Villa and Everton as well as an unconvincing performance against Wolves at home. Liverpool have been shown 2+ cards in 3 of their last 5 Premier League games pointing to this recent frustration. Manchester City have drawn 2+ cards from their opponents in 2 of their last 5 Premier League matches but the gravity of this fixture should see both these records increase. The referee for this game is Anthony Taylor who can lose control of games on occasion, he’s averaging 3.27 yellow cards per game across his 22 appointments in the Premier League this season but notably has shown more yellow cards to Liverpool than any other side in the Premier League, handing out 6 cautions to the Reds across his 4 appointments.

Mohamed Salah is arguably enjoying his best ever season in a Liverpool shirt with 39 goal contributions across his 26 Premier League appearances so far (24 goals, 15 assists). Salah can continue this sparkling form against a Manchester City side he’s had plenty of success against in recent seasons. Remarkably, Salah has registered a goal contribution across each of his last 7 appearances across all competitions, a run that stretches back to Liverpool’s win over Lille in the Champions League. He’s had success against Manchester City already this season in providing a goal and an assist in the initial meeting between the sides earlier in the season at Anfield. Salah is on penalties for Liverpool which could end up being a viable route to goal for the 32-year-old considering that Liverpool have been awarded more penalties than any other side in the Premier League this season (7). Manchester City have only managed to keep 1 clean sheet across their last 5 games in all competitions suggesting that Liverpool and Salah will have opportunities to hurt them in this encounter.

It’s clear that Nico Gonzalez is in the same mould as the injured Rodri and he’s proven effective in helping Manchester City limit the amount of fast breaks going against them, a situation that has offered the opposition a direct path to their backline which has been far from consistent this term. He was shown a yellow card in Manchester City’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid and his numbers from his time in Portugal are promising. Gonzalez was averaging 2.24 fouls committed per 90 across his 17 appearances in Portugal’s top division, collecting 6 yellow cards and 1 red card in the process. These numbers indicate that Gonzalez will have plenty of defensive work on his plate, especially against the speed and the directness of Liverpool. He’ll be up against a combination of Dominik Szoboszlai (0.88 fouls won per 90), Ryan Gravenberch (1.45 fouls won per 90) and Alexis Mac Allister (1.47 fouls won per 90) who are expected to cause the Manchester City midfield all sorts of problems. Gonzalez will probably find himself in a few situations where he has to make tactical fouls to stop Liverpool breaking quickly, a role that Rodri excelled in. This should lead to an accumulation of challenges or a blatant yellow card challenge when Gonzalez is forced to commit a foul to stop a Liverpool counter-attack.

Szoboszlai has had 48 shots across his 24 Premier League appearances this season (2.50 per 90). A criticism levelled against the Hungarian since he joined Liverpool is that he should have a higher level of goal involvements, a criticism which is still valid considering the fact that he’s only registered 5 goal contributions this season (3 goals, 2 assists). However, despite this criticism, Szoboszlai’s shot record has remained pretty consistent across the season as a whole. Liverpool had 18 shots in the initial meeting between these sides at Anfield with Szoboszlai having 3 of these attempts, suggesting that he can replicate that total here when looking at his average across the entirety of the season. Szoboszlai has had at least 1 shot in each of his last 5 Premier League games with this total rising to 2+ in 3 of these games. Liverpool’s attacking line will get joy here against a Manchester City side that have struggled to stop opposition sides breaking on them quickly. There is arguably no better side than Liverpool in the Premier League to take advantage of that weakness with Szoboszlai well placed to get a few shots off here.

Goals have been common for both of these sides in recent weeks, Manchester City have seen over 2.5 goals in each of their last 5 games across all competitions whilst Liverpool have seen over this line in 4 of their last 5 games across all competitions with the exception coming in their FA Cup exit to Plymouth, a game in which they were missing the majority of their star-studded attacking line. The initial meeting between these sides produced 2 goals in a comfortable victory for Liverpool but we can expect City to carry more of an attacking threat given the reinforcements in January and their positive record at the Etihad Stadium. They’ve scored more goals at home than any other side in the Premier League despite their issues in maintaining consistency this season.