Both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola will have been watching with concerned eyes as the duo prepare to face each other on Saturday for a titanic clash. Liverpool can leapfrog City and go to the top of the table with a win at the Etihad Stadium.
But the players from both teams had wildly different fortunes for their countries, with Klopp and Guardiola potentially needing to raise the morale of some members of their squads. Here, Mirror Football looks at how the 29 players called up across both teams fared. Manchester City The other player who had been called up for the South American games was Ederson. But he pulled out before their defeats to Colombia and Brazil with a foot injury, which he suffered in the draw with Chelsea, but is expected to return for the clash with Liverpool.
Over in Europe, Guardiola will have been left deeply unhappy after Erling Haaland, Mateo Kovacic and Rodri all picking up injury problems. Haaland injured his ankle in the final stages of Norway’s win over the Faroe Islands, though failed to score against the minnows. HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will win Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City? Comment below.
Erling Haaland was injured against the Faroe Islands, but should be fit to face Liverpool Kovacic will miss the clash with Liverpool though, having been ruled out for up to three weeks with a quad injury. He missed Croatia’s wins over Latvia and Armenia, though City team-mate Josko Gvardiol played all 90 minutes of both of those games, keeping a clean sheet in each. Manuel Akanji endured a more difficult break defensively, with his Switzerland side conceding goals in three successive games as they drew with Israel and Kosovo before losing to Romania. But Jeremy Doku enjoyed a successful break going forwards, notching two assists for Belgium in their Euro 2024 qualifying win over Azerbaijan, having sat out the friendly against Serbia.
FILE – Belgium’s Jeremy Doku in action during the Euro 2024 group F qualifying soccer match between Belgium and Austria at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, June 17, 2023. Manchester City looks to have found a replacement for Riyad Mahrez with only a few days left in Europe’s summer transfer window. City and French team Rennes have reportedly reached agreement on a fee for the transfer of Belgium winger That brings us finally to City’s England contigent, with Gareth Southgate calling up five players from Guardiola’s squad. Rico Lewis enjoyed the best break, making his Three Lions debut in the draw with North Macedonia. In the same game, Kyle Walker was handed the honour of captaining the side, having come on as a sub in the win over Malta. City team-mates Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips were left on the bench for that game at Wembley, though Phil Foden did play all 90 minutes on the right wing.
Foden also played the full match in North Macedonia, with Grealish starting and Phillips coming off the bench. All in all, it was a mixed break for Guardiola’s side, though the City boss will be relieved his squad seem to have mostly come through it unscathed.
Liverpool The man in goal for Brazil when Diaz scored was his Liverpool team-mate Alisson, who also started as the Selecao lost to Argentina on Tuesday night. In an interesting trend fellow Red Alexis Mac Allister played all 90 minutes of that crunch clash at the Maracana.
Mac Allister also started in defensive midfield as Argentina suffered a shock defeat to Uruguay last week. And to complete the circle, Liverpool star Darwin Nunez started and scored for Uruguay that night, before adding two more goals in a win over Bolivia.
Nunez has now scored in four successive games for his country, form Jurgen Klopp will be hoping he can take into Liverpool’s trip to City. Fellow Reds attacker Mohamed Salah also starred in front of goal, scoring four in Egypt’s win against Djibouti.
Like all major Premier League teams, Manchester City and Liverpool had a host of players called up for the latest international break.
City had two players featuring in South America’s World Cup qualifiers over the past week. Julian Alvarez started both of Argentina’s games, though failed to score in either the 2-0 defeat to Uruguay or the fiesty 1-0 win over Brazil.
Erling Haaland was injured against the Faroe Islands, but should be fit to face Liverpool
Because of that, he missed the crucial qualifier with Scotland, though boss Stale Solbakken hinted he could have played if needed. Haaland could be back for Liverpool, alongside Rodri, who missed Spain’s clash with Cyprus, but then played 86 minutes against Georgia on Sunday.
Jeremy Doku notched two assists as Belgium beat Azerbaijan.
Bernando Silva also bagged an assist as Portugal beat Iceland, having also played just an hour of the win over Liechtenstein. City team-mate Ruben Dias was left on the bench for the game against the latter, though returned to the starting line-up to secure a clean sheet against Iceland.
Colombia’s Luis Diaz celebrates scoring his side’s second goal against Brazil during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Luis Diaz scored twice in an emotional win over Brazil ( Image: AP)
Liverpool had four players involved in action in South America. Luis Diaz enjoyed one of the best breaks in the Reds squad, scoring both of Colombia’s goals in an emotional win over Brazil, before helping his side to a narrow win over Paraguay.
