Manchester City vs Liverpool (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Stats, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

The reigning Premier League champions look to slow the speed of Liverpool, who find themselves top of the league and by a comfortable margin with not long to go.

In midweek, Manchester City travelled to the Santiago Bernabeu to play the second-leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 play-off fixture against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid and coming into the contest trailing 3-2 to the Spanish club.

The margin to the Madrid side grew to two goals inside only four minutes on the evening, as Kylian Mbappe found the back of the net in an eventuality that he would bring to the fore a further two times across the 90 minutes.

Manchester City did however find the net on one occasion in the Spanish capital as January signing Nico Gonzalez recorded a late goal to cut into Los Blancos’ lead but do nothing for his side’s hopes in the competition as a whole.

With their exit from Europe’s premier club tournament, it marks the first time since the 2016/17 campaign that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool, on the other hand, come into this match fresh off of a draw against Aston Villa in midweek, which came despite scoring efforts from Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the contest.

The Reds are flying high at the top of the Premier League table with 61 points, sitting eight points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who fell to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon courtesy of a lone Jarrod Bowen strike at the Emirates Stadium.

And ahead of Manchester City’s meeting with Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, here is everything you need to know including how to watch, match officials, and early team news!

Match Details

The match between Manchester City and Liverpool will take place on Sunday 23 February, with kick-off scheduled at the Etihad Stadium for 16:30 UK.

Match Officials

The Premier League have confirmed that Anthony Taylor will oversee the action between the Mancunians and Scousers this weekend.

You can check out the full team of match officials below!

Team News

John Stones will not be available on Sunday afternoon in the latest injury blow to Pep Guardiola’s side after the Englishman came off early in the match against Real Madrid with an injury to his thigh.

Pep Guardiola explained during his pre-match press conference that Stones may also require surgery in order to repair the injury, as he said, “In the next days we will know if he needs surgery or not.”

Erling Haaland‘s presence on Sunday is also not a guarantee as the Norwegian continues to deal with a problem concerning his knee, but to have Manchester City at their best it requires the 24-year-old, according to the club’s Catalan coach.

“Don’t know yet,” explained Guardiola on his star striker’s availability for the weekend’s contest. “Everybody is responsible for the good things and bad things for the team but obviously with Erling we are better.”

Manuel Akanji, Oscar Bobb, and Rodri remain sidelined with their respective longer-term problems, although the Norwegian forward is beyond his recovery from a leg fracture last summer and is now nursing an issue with his ankle.

Cody Gakpo may be out for Liverpool against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon after he received a knock against Everton earlier in the month, while Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley are nursing thigh issues, too.

Head to Head

The match-up between Manchester City and Liverpool has become something of a classic over the last few seasons, with the two sides usually being in the midst of a title challenge between each other.

In their last four Premier League meetings, both sides have taken a match while drawing two of the fixtures.

Statistics

Manchester City have lost just one of their last 15 Premier League home games against Liverpool (W8, D6), going down 4-1 in November 2015 under Manuel Pellegrini.

Following their 2-0 win at Anfield in December, Liverpool are looking to complete the Premier League double over Manchester City for just the third time (also 2005/06 and 2015/16).

Liverpool have achieved the Premier League double over the reigning champions six times previously, more than any other side in the competition’s history (vs Blackburn in 1995/96, Man Utd in 2000/01, 2001/02, 2008/09 and 2013/14, and Chelsea in 2010/11).

Since Christmas, only Liverpool and Arsenal have won more points in the Premier League than Manchester City (17 – W5, D2, L1). In their eight games beforehand, City picked up only four points (W1, D1, L6).

Liverpool are unbeaten in each of their last 13 Premier League games played on a Sunday (W11, D2) while scoring multiple goals in each of those matches, since a 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace in April 2024.

How to Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, you can view the match on Sky Sports Main Event.

For viewers in the United States, you can view the match on Peacock, with kick-off slated for 11:30 a.m. EST.

You can find full global TV listings for the match here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Sunday afternoon, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!