Man City vs Liverpool LIVE: Latest Premier League updates

Man City XI: Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Grealish, Alvarez

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Elliott, Jota, Salah, Gakpo

The fans are starting to arrive at the Etihad Stadium ahead of today’s 12.30pm kick off. Team news is expected shortly and we’ll see if Erling Haaland is fit to start for Manchester City.

Since Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp took over their respective clubs there has been a nice rivalry built up between Manchester City and Liverpool.

The games are always intense and neither side dominates the other. Though Liverpool are not fighting for the title this season they will still want to defeat City and will pose a big threat for the reigning champions this afternoon.

“The rivalry is always there, no matter what the situation is of each team. It has always been a big rivalry in the last few years,” said City midfielder Rodri, “I think it is going to be one of the toughest games of the season.

“We need to show the best version of ourselves again because we are in the situation where we must win every game. It is going to be a final.

“My first game for City was against Liverpool in the Community Shield which we won. Of course, that year they won the Premier League, then we won it the next few years. They have an unbelievable team.

“We are always fighting against them and have had lots of big games at the Etihad and Anfield. There are lots of memories in the last few years.”

Liverpool are to blame. It was Jurgen Klopp’s conclusion and his confession. “We are 100 per cent guilty for everything,” said the German and if, not for the first time, there was an element of exaggeration to an emphatic statement, he was not trying to dodge responsibility for a slide that has surprised him in its scale.

Over four seasons, Liverpool and Manchester City had set standards that had never been maintained for so long in the English game before. They were separated by a solitary point – 358-357, with Pep Guardiola taking one more than Klopp – and fought a fierce rivalry from parallel positions. Not now: while Liverpool are looking for a third victory over City this season when they visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, they kick off 19 points behind them, 27 adrift of Arsenal.

Gargantuan gulfs could stand at 22 and 30 respectively by 5pm. “An anomaly, yeah,” Klopp said. “I would prefer it would be 12 points then we were still in the Champions League spot, but it would still be 12 points to City.” Now Liverpool begin an eight-day period when they face City, Chelsea and Arsenal. “It is like a Champions League week,” Klopp said. Get too few points, however, and they could be out of the reckoning for next season’s Champions League.

As part of his pre-match press duties the Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, previewed what he called a super-important game against Manchester City.

“Yeah, super-important game, that’s the one thing that’s not different to all the other years because obviously for us super-important, for City super-important,” he said.

“So, apart from that, I’m not sure in the moment, I don’t think you could now say it’s nicer to fight for the title or whatever, in the moment it’s just about [that] we have to win football games. And you get usually what you deserve if you work hard enough – and that’s what we try.

“But we know it’s a massive game, a massive week coming up. But for tomorrow obviously they deserve all the attention, we should not think about the other games. That’s how we approach it.

“The boys are now back; some of them trained today the first time, that’s how it is with international duties but it’s no different to City’s situation, for them it’s the same.

“So we will see. It’s clear, against City you have to be on top of your game. You have to defend on a super-high level and you have to play football as well.

“That’s normal, completely normal; with the kind of dominance they can show, it’s really difficult not to forget that in your spells you have to play football as well and that’s what we in the good games always did. That’s it.”

Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, says that having experience of winning close run title races counts for nothing as his team look to chase down Premier League leaders Arsenal this season.

“The past is the past, experience doesn’t count,” he said in the build-up to today’s crucial encounter with Liverpool,

“I hear sometimes players or managers say ‘I don’t have to show anything or demonstrate anything because of what I have done in the past’. It’s the most awful sentence.

“You have to prove it every single day, again and again and again. The past is the past.

“For the memories when you are a grandfather it’s nice but the reality, the people tomorrow will come to the Etihad Stadium and they won’t think about what we have done in the past.

“You have to [do it] again and again. Otherwise you have to retire. I never play a game thinking because of my experience in the past I am going to win this game.

“I think in football, what you have done yesterday doesn’t count for tomorrow.”

Liverpool are vying to complete a Premier League double against Manchester City for the third time, having done so in 2005/06 and 2015/16.

The Reds are 19 points behind their opponents in the table – the most they have trailed City immediately before facing them in a Premier League fixture.

Winger Diaz, who has been out since October with a knee injury, is back in training but not yet ready to make his comeback while midfielder Thiago is still sidelined by a hip problem.

Keita, who has had an injury-hit season, is out again but forward Nunez is recovering after being hurt in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid and missing Uruguay’s March internationals against South Korea and Japan.

The prolific striker withdrew from Norway’s recent Euro 2024 qualifiers after suffering a groin injury in City’s FA Cup victory over Burnley a fortnight ago.

Haaland, who has scored 42 goals in all competitions this season, will be assessed after City’s final training session ahead of the lunchtime encounter at the Etihad Stadium.

Manager Pep Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday: “Erling is recovering. We’ll see this afternoon. The last training is at 4pm and we will see how he feels.”

Despite how close these two sides have been over the last few years Liverpool have fallen off the boil this season. Pep Guardiola’s men are in the hunt to regain their title and with home advantage will be favourites to win this afternoon.

Manchester City should keep up their title chase with a strong win.

Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool