Manchester City have won all five Premier League games under Enzo Maresca, who took over after Pep Guardiola resigned in June. They visit Anfield on Sunday 11 October 2026 (kick-off 16:30), where Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool are unbeaten and sixth. It’ll be an interesting battle after the international break.
Form & Stake
City lead the table with 15 points, five wins from five, 13 goals scored and five conceded, and beat Sunderland 5-3 on 20 September, with Brian Brobbey scoring a hat-trick in the season’s highest-scoring game so far. Maresca’s side win games and give away goals.
Liverpool are sixth on nine points, with two wins and three draws, having scored seven and conceded four, and they beat Bournemouth 1-0 on 20 September to stay unbeaten, with a recent form line that reads W-D-D-D-W. Iraola, who arrived on 4 June, has built a hard-to-beat team that takes time to take control.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has confirmed that Cody Gapko and Alexander Isak will not be available for Sunday's game against Man City. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/r0mq0dwwC4
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 9, 2026
City won both Premier League meetings last season, 3-0 and 2-1, and the 4-0 FA Cup tie in April, although overall in the Premier League Liverpool lead the head-to-head 23-21, according to The Stats Zone, and at Anfield they have 18 wins, eight draws and three defeats. The stakes are clear: a City win would put a nine-point gap between them and Liverpool. A Liverpool win would shake the table.
Arsenal is also 3 points behind Manchester City at the time of writing, since Arsenal has not yet played their match against Leeds.
Team News & Injuries
City will be without suspended Phil Foden, and Antoine Semenyo is doubtful with an ankle problem, so Rayan Cherki is projected to play at No. 10 behind Erling Haaland. Nico O’Reilly was questionable earlier in the week.
Liverpool are without Hugo Ekitike, who is out until around December with an Achilles injury, and Conor Bradley, who has a knee problem, while Giovanni Leoni is only now nearing full training after his cruciate ligament injury. Alexander Isak withdrew from Sweden’s camp with a thigh problem that national coach Graham Potter called minor, but he is still not on the roster for Sunday’s game. Cody Gakpo hurt an ankle in the Netherlands game against Serbia and is a doubt, with Rio Ngumoha or VÃctor Muñoz as alternatives. Jérémy Jacquet has a hamstring issue after France duty and will likely not start.
Predicted line-ups
No confirmed XI was available at the time of writing. Both sides are projected in a 4-2-3-1.
Liverpool: Iraola will set up for a counter-attacking game at Anfield, with Wirtz behind Isak, Virgil van Dijk partnered by Gomez or Jacquet, and Isak’s fitness the deciding factor. Liverpool’s predicted line-ups could be the following:
Alisson – Araujo, Gomez, van Dijk, Kerkez – Szoboszlai, Mac Allister – Munoz, Wirtz, Barcola – Koumas
Manchester City: Maresca seems to have more options, though he is without Foden, and the midfield will decide the tempo.
Donnarumma – Gvardiol, Dias, Guehi, Nunes – Anderson, Enzo – Semenyo, Cherki, Ndiaye – Haaland
The key battle
Liverpool’s resilience against City’s goals. Liverpool have drawn three of their five games, while City have won all five and scored 13. Whichever team scores first changes the other’s tactics. Everything else follows. Personally, I will be interested in the Szoboszlai vs Enzo battle in the midfield and van Dijk against Haaland.
Liverpool vs Manchester City Predictions & Tips
City are in form and have won the last three meetings, but Liverpool at Anfield are hard to beat and remain unbeaten, so a close game with goals at both ends is the most likely outcome.
Tip: Both teams to score. Predicted score: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City.
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