It’s the big one. Over the best part of a decade, Liverpool and Manchester City have been billed as the Premier League’s biggest and highest-stakes fixture.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola went head-to-head over many seasons, forged a deep-rooted rivalry that has gone down as one of the division’s greatest. But Klopp is no longer part of Anfield’s project, and City have fallen by the wayside.
Still, the Etihad Stadium awaits on Sunday for a Reds team that has suffered successive 2-2 draws on the road, and Arne Slot will know that ceding further territory will present second-placed Arsenal with a chance to move within touching distance.
The Citizens are horribly out of sorts this season, a shadow of their former imperious selves. To be sure, Liverpool are in a good position to inflict further misery on Pep’s men, but their record on Manchester’s blue patch leaves plenty to be desired.
23/24
Premier League
1-1 draw
22/23
Premier League
4-1 loss
22/23
Carabao Cup
3-2 loss
21/22
Premier League
2-2 draw
20/21
Premier League
1-1 draw
They haven’t won at the Etihad in the Premier League since November 2015, a few months into Klopp’s tenure. Moreover, Omar Marmoush is roaring into life as the four-in-a-row champions’ new superstar.
Omar Marmoush's form this season
City attacked the winter transfer market with a vengeance, incensed by their ongoing downfall and determined to piece Guardiola’s dynasty back together.
Signings were made across the park, but the £59m deal to bring Eintracht Frankfurt superstar Marmoush to England was the headliner.
Mohamed Salah is the best forward on the continent right now, certainly the most clinical, certainly the most devastating. However, the City forward is already proving himself to be a statement signing after putting a hat-trick past Newcastle United last weekend.
1.
Mohamed Salah
26
39
2.
Harry Kane
20
29
3.
Omar Marmoush
20
28
4.
Mateo Retegui
23
23
5.
Robert Lewandowski
23
22
5=
Alexander Isak
23
22
5=
Erling Haaland
25
22
With Darwin Nunez’s future up in the air, the Egyptian heir apparent was coveted by Anfield chiefs, with Swiss football journalist Marcel Reif suggesting – via the Liverpool Echo – that the 26-year-old would move to Merseyside in the summer.
Liverpool will hope that their decision won’t come to bite them on Sunday, but they could have had their own version plying his art under Slot’s wing. Alas, the dynamic forward was released when he was just 11 years old.
Liverpool fumbled their own Marmoush
Liverpool have a fearsome frontline, but Nunez isn’t up to scratch and Luis Diaz seems to perenially ebb and flow from form.
His name? Anthony Gordon. You might have heard of him. The England international started slow on Tyneside but he has gone from strength to strength over the past two seasons, even being awarded the Magpies’ Player of the Season for 2023/24.
Hailing from Liverpool, Gordon cut his teeth with Everton and made 78 senior appearances for the Toffees, scoring seven goals, before handing in a transfer request and earning a £45m move to St. James’ Park in January 2023.
There’s no love lost between Gordon and the Blues, with his Anfield origins only adding insult to injury. Indeed, Gordon was a part of Liverpool’s youth set-up before being released aged 11. It was a blow, a cruel blow, but the lad dug in deep and restored his pathway to the major stage over the road, honing his formative skills at Finch Farm.
Gordon has intimated his thoughts on the situation: “It was another chance for me to grow. But that was hard. It affected me mentally and dented my confidence. I had to pick myself up and go again.
“When I got to Everton, I never looked back.”
Now thriving as a high-class and versatile Premier League forward, Gordon has no doubt shown Liverpool that they made a mistake in letting him go, for he almost returned last summer, and for a pretty penny at that.
Anthony Gordon's form for Newcastle
Newcastle were battling against Profit and Sustainability breaches last summer, and selling Gordon to Liverpool was a real possibility. However, Eddie Howe’s side ultimately found a different way to circumvent the problem.
The failure of the two clubs to agree on a fee might have formed the crux of the breakdown, perhaps because United had touted their talent at a jaw-dropping £100m, a figure FSG most looked at with derision.
Gordon could have been the long-term solution to Liverpool’s issue on the left flank, succeeding Diaz perhaps. After all, he’s the right profile: according to FBref, the Three Lions star is one of Marmoush’s most comparable players when crunching numbers collected over the past 365 days.
Both right-footers are positionally dynamic, with pace and potency that serves them well on the left wing though has seen managers shift them into more frontal focal roles when dealing with absences.
Moreover, Gordon posted 12 goals and 11 assists across all competitions last season, proving that he can mix his output in a manner that aligns with Marmoush.
The Citizen star, indeed, has scored 23 goals and added 14 assists from 33 appearances for his two clubs combined in 2024/25, making a telling comment on his skill as a first-rate forward.
Marmoush might have more of a natural striking instinct but Newcastle’s star winger has a complete approach to his football that will serve him well at the top of the continental game, averaging 2.1 key passes and 5.4 successful duels per Premier League fixture this term, as per Sofascore.
Gordon is still only 23 years old too, so has several years to catch up to Marmoush’s present level and refine his shooting skills. Self-proclaimed as a “nightmare” for defenders, he’s hardly lacking confidence either.
In any case, Liverpool have shown that they admire both players and appear to have fumbled both.
Time to go: Liverpool have an "unplayable" teen who'd send Nunez packing
Darwin Nunez is increasingly likely to leave Anfield at the end of the season.
1 ByAngus Sinclair Feb 20, 2025