Liverpool v Man City: Premier League betting preview, free tip and TV details

Football tips, best bets and predictions for Liverpool v Manchester City in the Premier League.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Liverpool draw no bet
1pt 10-11 Betfred, RedZone

Back this tip with bet365

Team news

Liverpool
Joel Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri are ruled out, along with long-term absentee Nathaniel Clyne.

Manchester City
Claudio Bravo will start as first-choice keeper Ederson is injured. David Silva and Rodri are unlikely to feature, while Aymeric Laporte, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leroy Sane are still out.

Match preview

Manchester City visit Liverpool in the biggest game of the season so far – not just in England, but around the globe – and the key figure could be City's reserve goalkeeper.

Pep Guardiola needs a big performance from stand-in shot-stopper Claudio Bravo as Liverpool look to take control of the Premier League title race.

The City boss has problems to match the magnitude of the fixture and that may just tip this heavyweight tussle in Liverpool's favour.

The Merseysiders' current six-point advantage is far from insurmountable, but a nine-point lead over the champions would feel pretty good for Jurgen Klopp's side and they are worth backing to triumph with stakes returned in the event of a draw.

A stalemate looked a likely outcome earlier in the week but the difference in quality between injured first-choice goalkeeper Ederson and Anfield starter Bravo is noteworthy.

Bravo has been okay in the EFL Cup and is certainly experienced enough, having played for Chile and Barcelona, although he has rarely looked comfortable under intense pressure.

The red card he received after replacing Ederson against Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday will have whetted the appetite of the Kop, who are sure to make life tough for the jittery Chilean cat.

Bravo won't even be protected by a first-choice defence with Aymeric Laporte sidelined and mystery surrounding the participation of Rodri, who had been ruled out of this contest a couple of weeks ago before appearing for a light training session in midweek.

Guardiola has won a Champions League final with Yaya Toure at centre-back, so expect the unexpected and a complex plan which could flummox Liverpool, his own team or possibly both.

Could City switch to a back three? They might use Kyle Walker as a centre-back or Joao Cancelo as a defensive winger to keep tabs on the Merseysiders' marauding full-backs.

It's impossible to know when Guardiola is involved and he has been accused of over-thinking big matches to the detriment of his side.

He was more than happy to take a 0-0 draw at Anfield last season in a dour battle which saw a total of just 13 shots. The expected-goals rating was 0.43-0.31 ignoring Riyad Mahrez's late penalty miss.

Thirteen months on and with another Champions League in the trophy cabinet, Liverpool are surely in a better place to take the initiative and test Bravo's fortitude through Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and magic man Sadio Mane.

Liverpool are unbeaten in 28 Premier League matches, winning 19 of the last 20 and have gone 45 league fixtures unbeaten at Anfield.

City are better than any other team Liverpool will face and therefore those numbers are not as significant as they would be against normal opponents.

But the absence of Ederson for such a crucial fixture may prove momentous in this season's title hunt.

Key stat

Manchester City are winless at Anfield since 2003, when Nicolas Anelka scored both the visitors' goals.

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