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- Live updates from the Etihad Stadium, kick-off 4.30pm GMT
- Manchester City v Liverpool is the acid test for two brilliant teams
- Feel free to email Rob with your thoughts
3.36pm GMT
Pep Guardiola has dropped Riyad Mahrez from the City squad, never mind the team. He also has four defenders on the bench, which is a bit peculiar.
Jurgen Klopp has solved the Firmino/Jota problem by picking them both in a very attacking side. Joel Matip also returns from injury in defence.
3.28pm GMT
This could make things interesting
The stage is set! (And potentially wet) ☔ï¸
C'MON CITY!!
#ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klUGiM pic.twitter.com/zBc73OFtco
1.10pm GMT
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Manchester City v Liverpool, the biggest and best game in English football. A year ago this weekend, on an exhilarating afternoon at Anfield, Liverpool stuffed City 3-1 to move eight points clear at the top of the table. It was obvious, even with 26 games to go, that they were going to win their first title since 1990. While a win for either team today will not have quite the same impact, it would be a profound statement of intent to win the 2020-21 Premier League. For all the endearing early season weirdness - stop the count! - the strong likelihood is that one of these teams will be top in May.
This is probably a more important game for City - not because they are at home (if anything, given the nature of Covid football, Liverpool have the away advantage), but because they have had a subdued start to the season. City are 12th and, though they have games in hand, they have not started the season with the murderous purpose that most of us expected. They need three points today; more than that, they need a performance that shows they can still reach the awesome heights on 2017-19.
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