High-quality battle

For the fourth time in the Premier League era, Manchester City and Liverpool will clash for the top spot in the standings. This is the most intense rivalry in the league in many years. Manchester City (28 points) currently lead, one point ahead of Liverpool, and both teams could lose their positions to Arsenal and Tottenham (both with 27 points). This encounter isn't exactly a six-point race, but it could still influence the remainder of the season. Manager Jurgen Klopp is concerned that Liverpool will face an early match (played at midday in England) for the third time this season after the international break and will have to play away from home. This is because Liverpool have more key players who are internationals from non-European countries (Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Alisson, Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister) than Manchester City. This could affect the fitness of the "Red Army" players due to long journeys and constant time zone changes.

Trận chiến chất lượng cao - Ảnh 1. — Erling Haaland (Man. City, *left* ) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) are key to the clash at the Etihad Stadium tonight.

Frankly, Man City are considered the favorites in their home match against Liverpool, as the Etihad Stadium is their fortress. So far this season, the English champions have won all 7 of their home games in all competitions, scoring 22 goals and conceding only 4. Meanwhile, Liverpool have struggled away from home, dropping points in 4 out of 6 Premier League away games and most recently losing to Toulouse in the Europa League group stage.

Home advantage could be a crucial factor in determining the outcome of this big match. Therefore, manager Klopp will have to devise a plan to contain Manchester City's strength at the Etihad. Only three teams have beaten Manchester City this season: Wolves, Chelsea, and Arsenal. While Wolves play a low-lying formation waiting for counter-attacking opportunities, Chelsea and Arsenal succeed by pressing high up the pitch, putting pressure on Manchester City in their own half and disrupting Guardiola's tiki-taka style of play. This is a style of play that Klopp will have to pay attention to in order to achieve a good result.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) will be key players in tonight's match, or more accurately, stopping them could be the key to victory for each team. Haaland (13 goals) and Salah (10 goals) currently occupy the top two positions in the Premier League's top scorer list this season. Haaland has scored 9 goals in his last 6 appearances for Manchester City across all competitions. However, Liverpool is one of only two teams Haaland has faced while playing for Manchester City without scoring a single goal in the English top flight.

Key absences such as John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne (Man. City), Andy Robertson and Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool) will affect the strength of each team, but it is unlikely to diminish expectations of a high-quality, high-scoring match. The last 11 meetings between the two teams have produced 43 goals (an average of 3.9 goals per game).