Jurgen Klopp’s side face the onerous Lunchtime trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City tomorrow.
erling-haaland-manchester-city The Reds’ seasonal demise last year punctuated this point, with Jurgen Klopp’s dynasty teetering on the cusp of its culmination as dreadful form and a loss of life unravelled the years of hard work at Anfield.
There’s optimism anew now and the Reds are back fighting for a place at the forefront of the Premier League, with Saturday’s fixture of the utmost importance: a clash against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
jurgen-klopp-liverpool-premier-league On Saturday, Liverpool have a glorious opportunity to leapfrog their rivals to first place by defeating them in their own backyard, with the stakes high in one of the global game’s most compelling and eagerly-anticipated fixtures.
Liverpool team news vs Manchester City Andy Robertson is taking his recovery from a shoulder injury “week by week”, with the Scotland captain not expected to return to match action for the foreseeable future. Likewise, Spanish midfielders Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara remain out and may well be shackled to the medical room until after the new year.
It is galvanising that so many players are in contention to start against the Sky Blues, but nothing surpasses the importance of having Virgil van Dijk in top form to stifle the threat of one of the greatest offensive squads in modern history.
Virgil van Dijk’s season in numbers Liverpool signed Van Dijk from Southampton for a staggering £75m back in December 2017, with the 32-year-old since making 233 appearances for the club, scoring 19 goals, supplying 14 assists and winning the whole gamut of silverware under Klopp’s wing.
The brevity of success in football is a puzzle that all teams are aware of, notably Liverpool, with efforts made year after year to effectively equip for the season during the summer, and then instil a philosophy fit for illustrious success across the campaign.
For Pep Guardiola’s side, silverware certainly hasn’t been in short supply over recent years, with Manchester City winning 14 major honours in just seven seasons since the sagacious Spaniard’s appointment; Klopp has won six major honours on Merseyside.
Liverpool are boosted by the return of multiple first-team stars, with the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle allaying fears of respective issues and additionally revealing that the South American players are fit and raring to go for the trip to Manchester.
The Athletic’s James Pearce recently remarked that the Dutchman is “back to his brilliant best”, having flattered to deceive as Liverpool toiled last year.
