[2026-27 English Premier League] Liverpool vs Manchester City preview and analysis Kick-off: 11 October, 15:30 UTC
Liverpool and Manchester City meet at Anfield at 15:30 UTC on 11 October in the sixth round of the 2026-27 Premier League season. Sixth-placed Liverpool trail leaders Manchester City, who have won all five of their league matches, by six points. This is the first meeting between the sides since Andoni Iraola and Enzo Maresca took charge of their respective teams.
1. Match overview and team form
Iraola’s Liverpool are unbeaten after two wins and three draws since the start of the league season, but both of their league games at Anfield have ended level. Manchester City have won all five league matches under Maresca and are on a seven-game winning run in all competitions. They have scored 13 league goals to Liverpool’s seven, while conceding five compared with Liverpool’s four. Liverpool need to close the points gap, but the teams’ attacking situations are more complicated than the table and goal totals suggest.
League record after five matches: Liverpool, 2 wins and 3 draws, 7 goals scored and 4 conceded; Manchester City, 5 wins, 13 goals scored and 5 conceded Recent form in all competitions: Liverpool unbeaten in 8; Manchester City on a 7-game winning run Key absences: Liverpool, Isak, Gakpo and Ekitiké; Manchester City, Foden
Liverpool conceded four goals in their opening two matches, then kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league. That run coincided with the back four settling into place, with Araujo on the right, Jacquet and Van Dijk in the middle, and Kerkez on the left. The clean sheets came against Ipswich Town, Fulham and AFC Bournemouth, though. Whether Jacquet and Van Dijk can also deal with Erling Haaland’s runs in behind and aerial duels is a different challenge. Liverpool won 1-0 away to AFC Bournemouth last time out, but Alisson had to make a close-range save in the first half.
Liverpool’s bigger change comes in attack. Iraola confirmed that Alexander Isak, who has a thigh injury, and Cody Gakpo, who has an ankle injury, will miss the match. Hugo Ekitiké is also recovering from an Achilles injury. Isak has scored four of Liverpool’s seven league goals this season. For the winner against AFC Bournemouth, Gakpo drove down the right and sent in a low cross, which Isak finished from close range. Today, both the player who carried the ball and the scorer from that move are out.
Iraola said that Luis Kumas is the only recognised No. 9 available. Kumas pressed the opposition centre-backs and ran in behind in the League Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, but this would be his first Premier League start. Another option is to move Bradley Barcola into the middle, or use Florian Wirtz as a false nine. Barcola was unable to complete an hour against Atlético Madrid after suffering muscle cramps. Iraola’s selection hinges on what he wants to prioritise up front: Kumas’s pressing, Barcola’s runs in behind or Wirtz’s link-up play.
Manchester City will be without Phil Foden through suspension, and Nico O’Reilly is also a doubt. Antoine Semenyo trained normally, while Haaland is reported to be available. With Foden out, more of the responsibility for connecting with Haaland from central areas behind the striker will fall to Ryan Cherki. Liverpool, meanwhile, are missing their main forwards at the same time. Both sides have absentees, but the attacking functions they have lost are different.
Manchester City won all three meetings last season, with Haaland scoring five goals across those matches. Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot were the managers then. Rodri and Bernardo Silva have also left Manchester City’s midfield since. Today, the key points are Haaland’s movement in the box, Cherki’s link-up play and how Liverpool’s new midfield responds.
Neither team has played a competitive match since 20 September, and both have Champions League fixtures on 14 October. Each manager made wholesale changes for the previous League Cup match, then brought the regular starters back for the next league game. We expect them to field their available first-choice players again. There is no rain forecast around kick-off at Anfield, and winds are light, so the weather is unlikely to give either side a clear advantage in how they play.
2. Match-up analysis
Iraola’s Liverpool look to move the ball forward quickly after winning possession and press high when opponents build from the back. Against Atlético Madrid, they completed fewer passes than their opponents but won 2-1 with quick forward play. In the League Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, Kumas and others pressed the opposition’s build-up and forced them to rush their passes. All three goals in that match came from situations other than winning the ball high up the pitch and scoring immediately, though. Even if the press disrupts Manchester City’s build-up, Liverpool still need to make the next pass and create a shot.
Maresca’s Manchester City use Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernández as holding midfielders to move the ball forward. If Cherki receives the ball behind Liverpool’s midfield and turns to face goal, he can find a winger or play Haaland in behind. If a Liverpool midfielder steps out to press Cherki and is slow to recover, Van Dijk and Jacquet may have to deal with Haaland’s runs and crosses from wide areas at the same time. If Liverpool win the ball by pressing Anderson and Fernández before they can play forward, they can attack before Manchester City’s defence gets organised again.
Liverpool also need to decide where Wirtz will play. If he receives the ball facing forward as an attacking midfielder, Manchester City must decide which of their two holding midfielders will close him down. If one steps out, a Liverpool forward can attack the space behind; if both hold their positions, Wirtz gets time to play forward. But if Wirtz drops into a false-nine role, Liverpool will lack a player who can receive long passes and hold the ball up near the front. That problem will grow the longer Manchester City keep possession after playing through Liverpool’s initial press.
On the flanks, the space behind Manchester City right-back Matheus Nunes is a target for Liverpool. Against Sunderland, Manchester City conceded after allowing an attack between Nunes and the centre-back, and into the space behind Nunes. Barcola could try to run at Nunes if he stays on the left. If Barcola moves into the middle, Ngumoha or Muñoz will have to take on that flank in a different way. Whoever plays there, Liverpool need someone to replace Gakpo’s drive down the right against AFC Bournemouth and Isak’s close-range finish.
At the other end, former centre-back Araujo will defend against Manchester City’s left winger. If Jérémy Doku starts, Araujo will have to deal with repeated one-on-one runs. If Cherki escapes the press and sends the ball to the left, Araujo’s response will matter. If Doku advances into a position to cross, Haaland and Liverpool’s centre-backs will then contest the ball. Whether Liverpool’s recent defensive improvement holds up against Haaland depends on how early they cut off that link-up.
Set pieces could partly make up for Liverpool’s missing forwards. Szoboszlai scored directly from a free kick against Donnarumma in last season’s meeting at Anfield. Van Dijk can also compete in the air. Manchester City conceded twice from free kicks against Sunderland last time out, and Maresca said those goals were too easy to give away. Liverpool will still have a route to goal from free kicks and corners even if they struggle to finish attacks in open play. Liverpool also dropped deeper after taking the lead against Tottenham Hotspur and allowed several set pieces. If they take a similar approach today, they will have to keep dealing with Manchester City’s aerial threat, including Haaland.
Recent results show the same challenges. Manchester City scored five against Sunderland, but conceded within two to four minutes of each of their first three goals. Liverpool have shown they can fight back after conceding first this season, but Isak, who contributed to that process, is unavailable today. Whoever scores first will still have work to do to protect the lead. Manchester City must manage the period after scoring and defend set pieces, while Liverpool will need to stop crosses if they drop deeper.
3. Final view and prediction
Our predicted score is Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City. Manchester City could score first by finding Haaland in a wide-area attack through Cherki, but Liverpool have ways to respond through Szoboszlai’s set pieces and shots from midfield. Manchester City’s recent concession from free kicks supports that possibility. With Foden out, it could be harder for Manchester City to build another goal if Liverpool’s midfield keep pressing Cherki. Liverpool, too, may find it difficult to finish another open-play attack after equalising without Isak and Gakpo.
The market favours the away side, reflecting Liverpool’s missing forwards, Manchester City’s perfect league record and last season’s head-to-head results. It is fair to expect Liverpool’s finishing to suffer without those players. Still, their set-piece takers are available, while Manchester City’s central link-up will be concentrated through Cherki. We see a draw as the likelier outcome: both sides have a route to one goal, but the conditions for a second are less convincing. This prediction depends on Liverpool scoring once from a set piece or a shot from midfield. If Manchester City shut down that route as well, Liverpool will find a comeback difficult.
