Manchester City will try to halt their stunning slide and boost their Premier League title hopes when they visit league leader Liverpool on Sunday.
City are the four-time consecutive champions and have come from behind to win the league on multiple occasions in that stretch.
But after a six-match winless run in all competitions (0-5-1), including three straight defeats in league play, the second Cityzens (7-3-2, 23 points) visit Anfield with a risk of falling too far behind the Reds (10-1-1, 31 points).
The continued absence of reigning Ballon d’Or winner Rodri with a season-ending ACL injury and other defensive ailments have left manager Pep Guardiola’s side leaking goals, conceding at least twice in every match of that winless run.
Even Wednesday’s 3-3 home draw against Feyenoord in UEFA Champions League Play came in heartbreaking fashion, with City giving back a three-goal lead inside the final 15 minutes.
While the stakes on Sunday are massive, Guardiola said the only way to play out of this kind of rough stretch is to focus on the short term.
“We have to learn and learn. You can fall down again, to succeed is how many times you stand up when again, again and again, you fall. It’s the only way I know, so I know what I have to do,” Guardiola said. “In the situation we have, it’s not realistic to think of big targets. We think one game to give the momentum to continue.”
Guardiola could see key defender Ruben Dias and winger Jeremy Doku return against Liverpool. The former made the bench against Feyenoord after recovering from a calf issue and the latter had rejoined full training.
Liverpool have won six straight in all competitions and are unbeaten with only one draw in their past 15 under first-year manager Arne Slot.
Any concerns of 32-year-old Mo Salah wearing down with age have proved premature, with the star off to another impressive start to his league season with 10 goals and seven assists. And despite his penalty miss against Real Madrid in Wednesday’s Champions League fixture, Liverpool should feel plenty confident after a 2-0 home win on goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo.
Even so, Slot knows to underestimate City would be at his own peril.
“They are still a very, very, very good team,” Slot said. “And one of the reasons why I think Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world — or one of the best managers in the world, but I think the best though — is that he always comes up with solutions for his problems.”
–Field Level Media