Although playing at home in the Super Sunday match, according to The Athletic experts, Man City is rated lower than Liverpool. The Kop are not a highly rated team like Real Madrid when traveling to Etihad (never won under Pep) but are still confident enough to leave with 3 points.
Pep Guardiola's side have kept just six clean sheets since the start of the Premier League season, compared to Liverpool's 10. One of the things that makes this achievement is the solidity of leader Virgil van Dijk. The Dutch midfielder has made 2,021 passes and 2,311 touches since the beginning of the season, showing his stability and stability compared to Man City's unstable defense in the past 3 months.
While Van Dijk remains as a foundation in Liverpool's defence, Man City's key players in this line such as Ruben Dias have suffered persistent injuries. After losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League, The Citizens will lose John Stones in the near future, leaving a huge gap in the defense.
In terms of attack, Arne Slot's side are top of the Premier League with 60 goals, while Man City have 52. The Athletic experts said that the possibility of the match ending in a 0-0 draw is still there but it is not high. Both teams need to win to realize their goals, so they will play offensively.
So if the match does not end in a 0-0 draw, what scenario will come? The highest rate is leaning towards the result of 1-1. This Super Sunday will be dramatic but extremely difficult for both teams. Both sides could score but no one had the advantage.
If not 0-0 or 1-1, a rain of goals scenario will also be considered and it is what fans want most for the encounters between Man City and Liverpool. The rate of having a match with 2-3 goals is not too small. The reason for this is because this top encounter will be the place to compete with Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah, two candidates for the Golden Boot award.
Haaland sat out the second leg of the Champions League play-off against Real Madrid to focus on the big match this weekend. Pep Guardiola said the Norwegian striker's knee injury was not too serious. Therefore, Haaland is likely to appear in the fierce match against Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Salah is still showing why he is Liverpool's number 1 star. The Egyptian striker has scored 23 Premier League goals (4, more than Haaland), along with 13 assists. Salah's expected goals (xG) is 0.91 goals/match. Meanwhile, this figure for Haaland is 0.9 goals/match, considered equivalent.
In this match at the Etihad, a draw, even a loss of Liverpool, will have a big impact on the championship race. Liverpool are leading the table with 61 points from 26 games. They are 8 points ahead of Arsenal but have played 1 more game than their opponents. If they lose by hand at the Etihad, the possibility of The Kop narrowing the gap to 5 points is very high.
Meanwhile, Man City are in the Top 4 with 44 points after 25 matches, 3 points behind 3rd-placed Nottingham. If they lose to Liverpool, Man City is likely to be dropped from the Top 4 with Bournemouth and Chelsea currently ranked just below with the same 43 points.
