Game Week 13 Predictions: Man City to beat Liverpool at the Etihad

Manchester City vs Liverpool: Premier League Title Showdown Preview.

Pep Guardiola goes up against Jurgen Klopp again in the league, both managers need the win to set the pace at the top. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

 Manchester City vs. Liverpool

Etihad Stadium

1:30pm

It is the battle of the two real title contenders this season, and as always, it is one that is bound to thrill, entertain, and maybe spring up surprises. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the weekend!

International breaks can be annoying; we can’t get rid of them, but we can find ways to live with them and only hope our favorite players don’t get injured on the trip. What a way to return, first against second in the Premier League! What a game we have on our hands!

The champions sit on top of the Premier League table by just a single point, and they know that only a win will keep them at the top for at least another weekend, but they host another team that knows how to trouble them, second-placed Liverpool!

Manchester City played out a sensational 4-4 draw away at the Stamford Bridge to Chelsea just before the break. It was a great way to go into the international break with a ping-pong of a game that could have gone either way but ended in the balance, just as it should.

Liverpool continues to do their business quietly, getting points on the board and climbing slowly like they were expected to do after a torrid season last term. The Kops won their last game cleanly, beating Brentford 3-0 at Anfield. Now they have to do it away from home against the best team in the land.

There were rumored injuries going into the break, but we know how these things work: Erling Haaland trained well and is available for selection; Bernardo Silva is fit; and Ederson’s foot injury was obviously exaggerated to keep him from making the round trip to South America.

John Stones is available for selection, and in fact, only Kevin De Bruyne is unavailable for this fixture. The same can be said of the visitors; Andy Robertson is the only player that will miss this game. Both managers played mind games with injuries; it was time for them to reveal their respective cats.

How will they line up? Liverpool’s front three will trouble anyone on any day, regardless of how many chances Darwin Nunes misses; Mohammed Salah is on top of his game, and Luis Dias is still on his fairy-tale run after his father’s kidnapping.

Alexis Mac Allister returns for this game after serving his one-match ban for five yellow cards, and he will be instrumental in the middle of the park for Liverpool, but how will Dominic Szoboszlai support him in the battle against Rodri and Bernardo Silva?

Haaland will lead the line, and Pep Guardiola will decide who flanks him from the pool of talent at his disposal. Both sides have it in them to wreak havoc in this game, but the biggest winners will be the neutrals.

Verdict: Manchester City to win