Overview
Manchester City's season is facing the risk of decline when Arsenal is 9 points behind and Real Madrid is eliminated from the Champions League. However, coach Pep Guardiola's team promptly saved the situation with a convincing victory at Wembley.
Two headers in the second half by Nico O'Reilly helped Man City defeat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final, thereby helping Guardiola avoid the risk of going two consecutive seasons empty-handed. This title also raised the total number of major trophies in his coaching career to 40.
Ahead of Man City is still a challenging schedule in the Premier League with matches against Chelsea and Arsenal, but in the immediate future they will focus all their strength on the confrontation with Liverpool to win a ticket to the FA Cup semi-finals for the eighth consecutive season.
The Etihad Stadium team is having an impressive record in the FA Cup when winning 19/21 recent matches in four seasons, including a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United in the 5th round. Two rare defeats came in the 2024 and 2025 finals against Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
Man City is also on a 17-match winning streak at home in the FA Cup since 2015. If they beat Liverpool, they will surpass the Clapham Rovers' historical record to become the team with the longest home win streak in the league.
In the opposite direction, Liverpool entered the match in a volatile context after Mohamed Salah confirmed that he would leave the club at the end of the season. The 33-year-old player has just returned from injury and was advised by legend Steven Gerrard to end his journey at Anfield in a positive way.
Coach Arne Slot's team will have to play at least 10 matches in three arenas from now until the end of the season. Besides the goal of top 5 Premier League, the journey in the FA Cup and Champions League will also greatly affect the future of the Dutch strategist.
Before facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Liverpool will face Man City - who have beaten them both times in the Premier League this season. If they continue to win, Man City will become the second team to beat Liverpool three times in the same season, after Crystal Palace.
Liverpool once lost 0-3 at the Etihad in November, but still have a basis for confidence as they have won all four recent away matches against Man City in the FA Cup. Last month, they also defeated Wolves 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
If they win, Liverpool will return to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since the 2022 championship under Jurgen Klopp.
Personnel situation
Josko Gvardiol of Man City (cranial fracture) is still in the process of recovery, while John Stones (calf) and Ruben Dias (hamstring) will be checked for fitness before the match.
Marc Guehi is not eligible to play, but is likely to return to the starting lineup this weekend, playing alongside Dias (if he recovers in time), or Abdukodir Khusanov. In goal, James Trafford is expected to start instead of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
On Liverpool's side, Alisson Becker (muscle), Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni (all knee injuries) and Wataru Endo (ankle) are still absent. Jeremie Frimpong will be further assessed after the problem encountered while on international duty.
Alexander Isak has returned to training after more than three months of rest due to a broken leg, but this match may come too early. Therefore, Hugo Ekitike is likely to still start in the attack.
Expected lineup:
Man City: Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait-Nouri, Bernardo, Rodri, O'Reilly, Semenyo, Haaland, Cherki.
Mamardashvili, Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike.
The match between Man City and Liverpool takes place at 6:45 PM on April 4 (Vietnam time).
