Three Things Manchester City Need To Do To Defeat Liverpool This Weekend
It is the clash of the titans this weekend as Liverpool travel to the Etihad stadium to take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that this will be a contest between two of the most potent attacking forces in the Premier League and will make for a highly entertaining game to watch. Both teams are off to a solid start to the new season and find themselves level, with seven points from three games, but Jurgen Klopp’s side sit in the second place, owing to their better goal difference, while the Citizens lie fourth.
The Reds come into the game on a high after mauling Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield in their previous league fixture, whereas the Sky Blues will also be confident after their hard-fought 2-1 win away at Bournemouth. A win against a major rival, this early into the season, would be a good boost and here we look at three things that Guardiola and City should look to do, if they are to get the three points at home.
Deal With The Pace Of Salah And Mane
Liverpool’s attacking trident of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah is easily one of the most fearsome and the most dynamic trio in the English top-flight. The blistering pace down the flanks with Mane and Salah, their intelligent movement and the link-up play with Firmino – they are a daunting prospect to deal with.
The way the trio dismantled a hapless Arsenal defence before the international break was something of a sight. And if City are to come away with three points, then the triumvirate needs to be stopped. In Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, Guardiola has the full-backs who possess the pace to go toe-to-toe with Mane and Salah, but both of them need to make sure they do not get caught high up the field as even a little space given to the Liverpool attackers could be enough for them to do the damage. Stay compact, stay tight and keep them under check and half the job will be done.
Exploit The Soft Core
Despite all their attacking prowess, Liverpool still remain a defensively fragile side. They might have kept two clean sheets, against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, but they remain susceptible. While Joel Matip has the skillset to come out on top against anyone on his day, the same cannot be said about his partners Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan. Both the centre-backs aren’t the quickest and can be found out against attackers with pace.
Unleash the zippy Gabriel Jesus against Lovren and Liverpool could get opened. The Brazilian, with his pace and intelligent runs behind the backline could open up Jurgen Klopp’s side. In David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, they have the players capable of threading those passes in behind the defence and if Jesus can latch on to them, we all know how lethal a finisher he can be.
Capitalize From Set-Pieces
Historically Pep Guardiola’s sides aren’t known to be the most physical or the strongest at indirect set-pieces. But this City side does possess some robust players in their ranks who can make the most out of promising set-piece situations.
In Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, Fernandinho and Walker, they have players who can be a threat in the box and as it was seen in Liverpool’s opening game against Watford, they can be very naive at times while defending against corners or free-kicks. That will not be lost on Guardiola and if his team capitalise on such situations, the points will be theirs to take home.