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Manchester City – Liverpool FC
It is quite absurd that there is an EFL Cup round of 16 tie in England just five days after the World Cup final in Qatar. Football has changed, as has the whole business in this billion-dollar cosmos. While Julián Álvarez and his Argentine colleagues are still busy celebrating the World Cup triumph in his homeland, his club team-mates will host Liverpool FC on Thursday and fight for a place in the quarter-finals. Manchester City have won the EFL Cup a whopping four times in the last five years. In total, the Citizens have won the cup competition, known in England as the ‘Worthless Cup’, eight times, making them record runners-up.
Only Liverpool FC won the EFL Cup once more and are record winners with nine titles. But anyone who saw the Reds before the World Cup break and generally this season knows that Jürgen Klopp and his team are in a very difficult season. Liverpool are currently a full ten points behind Man City in the Premier League table and only in 6th place. A success on Thursday would give the Reds new self-confidence for the upcoming second half of the season. Find out what we expect from this top-of-the-table clash in the round of 16 of the EFL Cup in our Man City – Liverpool betting tips.
Man City – Liverpool info:
– Date & Time: 22.12.2022, 20:45 hrs.
– Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
– Competition: EFL Cup, Round of 16
– TV coverage: DAZN
Man City Form & Balance Check
Manchester City travelled to Abu Dhabi for their training camp during the World Cup and played a test match against Spanish first division side Girona, which the Skyblues won 2-0. Pep Guardiola had to do without a whole 14 players as they were playing the World Cup in Qatar, not far away. Indeed, the reigning English champions went into the break with a 2-1 defeat to Brentford.
The setback means City are now five points clear of league leaders Arsenal. However, Manchester have won ten of their 14 league games so far and have also reached the last 16 of the Champions League, so this season has been satisfactory so far. In addition, the Citizens have already defeated Chelsea FC in the 3rd round of the EFL Cup. The season so far is definitely more positive than that of Liverpool FC.
Haaland and De Bruyne in it
From 22 to 31 December, Man City will play three competitive games. Pep Guardiola was all the happier that Erling Haaland and Norway were not at the World Cup. The same was not true for Kevin De Bruyne, who was eliminated early in the group stage with Belgium. Belgium’s group exit meant De Bruyne came along to Abu Dhabi and delivered.
The Belgian and Haaland scored the two winning goals in the win over Girona on 17 December. It definitely didn’t hurt to have a recovered Erling Haaland available for the second leg. The Norwegian is on 23 goals and three assists after 18 competitive games for City. A rested De Bruyne, who has 13 assists in 19 competitive games for the Citizens, will also help the club achieve their goals in the second leg.
Man City facts & analysis
– Man City lost their last competitive match before the World Cup break 2-1 to Brentford.
– The Citizens won a test match against Girona 2-0 during the World Cup break.
– In the 3rd round of the EFL Cup, Manchester defeated Chelsea 3-0.
Liverpool Form & Balance Check
Liverpool FC went to Dubai for training camp during the World Cup. Jürgen Klopp took many youth players from the Academy with him as the Reds dropped a total of seven players for the World Cup. In Dubai, Liverpool played one more test match than Man City. Against Olympique Lyon, the Reds lost 1:3 after leading 1:0 in the 1st minute through Fabio Carvalho, before AC Milan were defeated 4:1.
World Cup player Darwin Núñez was already back in action against the Italian champions. The striker scored a brace straight away. Mohamed Salah also scored. In Dubai, the Reds picked up where they left off before the break. Southampton, Derby County (EFL Cup), Tottenham and Napoli (Champions League) were all beaten.
Offensive in scoring mood ahead of World Cup break
In order to qualify for the Champions League next season, Liverpool must finish at least 4th in the Premier League. Tottenham are currently seven points ahead of them. It is therefore all the more important that the Reds confirm their strong form against Man City before the World Cup break. In the duels with Napoli, Tottenham and Southampton, Liverpool scored a total of seven goals and conceded only two. From the last five competitive matches, four wins (success over Derby County in a penalty shootout) and only one defeat (1-2 home defeat against Leeds United) have resulted.
Liverpool facts & analysis
– Liverpool won four consecutive competitive matches before the World Cup break.
– The Reds won the second of two test matches in the World Cup break with 4:1 against Milan.
– In the 3rd round of the EFL Cup, Liverpool defeated Derby County in a penalty shootout.
Predicted line-up – last update on 20 December 2022
Pep Guardiola has been very uncertain about who is already eligible for the upcoming round of 16 out of the total 14 World Cup players. The Skyblues coach said: “The players who have been in Abu Dhabi for the small preparation now have had the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming matches. Some other players might have less time to prepare.” Among the players who played in the preparation, which included a 2-0 win over Girona, was Erling Haaland, behind whom there is no question mark.
Definitely missing will be striker Julián Álvarez, who won the World Cup with Argentina and is still stuck in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires to celebrate. Theoretically, Guardiola could call on all his players except Álvarez, as there are no suspensions or injuries. In the ELF Cup, Man City have so far used Ortega in goal in place of Ederson.
Centre-back Ibrahima Konaté, who only lost the World Cup final with France on Sunday, and the four long-term injuries Diogo Jota (calf injury), Luis Diaz (knee injury), Arthur Melo (surgery after muscle injury) and Naby Keita (muscle injury) will not feature. Unlike Man City, who were in Abu Dhabi, Liverpool kept fit in Dubai. Jürgen Klopp took some young players to the training camp and was enthusiastic about them. Asked if his team’s World Cup riders would be considered for the cup tie, Klopp replied: “Yes, of course there is a chance – they are already training. Henderson is already training here. Van Dijk is training here, but I don’t think we will try that. Henderson we will see, Trent we will see. But this group has been working together for almost two weeks now and we’ve made a real step and that’s cool. I don’t know at this point.” So Virgil Van Dijk will not be called into action. The same goes for goalkeeper Alisson, who will be replaced by Caoimhín Kelleher in the EFL Cup.
Man City – Liverpool direct comparison & stats
The recent history of this top-of-the-table clash is indeed very one-sided. Liverpool won three games in a row against Man City and lost only one of their last seven games against the Skyblues. In addition, the Reds won 1-0 the first meeting in the Premier League this season.
– In the EFL Cup, this duel has only happened once before. In 2016, Liverpool and Man City met in the final, which ended in a 1-1 draw and was only decided on penalties by the Skyblues.
– Manchester City are winless in 3 home games against Liverpool.
– Liverpool won the last encounter at the Etihad Stadium 3-2.
