Manchester City’s dominance of the Premier League over the past five years makes it easy to create an all-time Man City XI. Manchester City and Liverpool have been the two standout teams for the past six Premier League seasons, with the Citizens winning five of the league titles on offer in this time. Liverpool have only lifted the Premier League trophy once – in 2019/20 – since the inception of the competition, but have still managed to accumulate more than 90 points on two different occasions while not being awarded the prestigious trophy. This is down to the stranglehold Pep Guardiola’s City team has had over the division for the majority of his tenure in the dug-out at the Etihad. There is a strong argument that the Man City team we have seen over the past five years or so is the best team to grace the Premier League. The dominance of the club has all been fairly recent, in the past 15 years or so, and this means making an all-time Man City Premier League XI should be quite straightforward.
The issues come with Liverpool, as the Reds have been towards the top end of the table throughout the existence of the trophy. This means more players are vying for certain positions on the Reds’ team. Nonetheless, GIVEMESPORT have created the greatest XI each team has to offer and given thoughts on who would win a one-off encounter between the two sides.
It’s a tough task, but the criteria taken into account for both sides are goals, clean sheets, longevity and importance to the team at the specific time they played. With all that being said, let’s take a look at the XIs. Man City’s greatest Premier League team Guardiola took 12 months to settle on his number one at the Etihad – following a failed Claudio Bravo experiment – but Ederson has proven to be City’s best goalkeeper of the Premier League era since his arrival in 2017. This is why the Brazilian makes it into the side ahead of Joe Hart, who can feel hard done by, with Ederson’s ability with the ball at his feet being a standout quality to set him apart.
The defence does throw up a couple of dilemmas for the Manchester club, with central defenders being very close in ability. At right-back, Kyle Walker gets the nod ahead of Pablo Zabaleta due to his longer career at the top of the game. While the Argentine was a very underrated player during his time with the club, Walker’s pace and power have helped him maintain his elite level for several years. ‘Captain Fantastic’, Vincent Kompany, is among the best defenders in Premier League history, and the Belgian will partner John Stones in this XI. It may shock some that Rúben Dias misses out on the line-up, but Stones has been extremely impressive in his hybrid role as a centre-back who also moves into midfield to help control the game. João Cancelo is the clear candidate to fill the left-back role in the team as the Portuguese defender was at the peak of his powers when inverting from the left side of defence under Guardiola.
Vincent Kompany Kevin De Bruyne is the most attack-minded midfielder, with the creative Belgian being flanked by two Silva’s. David Silva kicked off his City career operating from the left-hand side of the pitch, with a license to drift inside and get heavily involved in the build-up. Bernardo Silva plays a vast array of roles in the current Man City team at the present moment, and he would be able to interchange with De Bruyne seamlessly during the game. City’s all-time top scorer in all competitions with 260 goals – Sergio Aguero – leads the line with the longevity of the Argentine helping him get into the side ahead of the revelation that is Erling Haaland. Liverpool’s greatest Premier League team Alisson is joined by four other current Liverpool squad members in the back line, three of whom are regular starters when available. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are two of the best full-backs in world football and have been for five years now. The pair have a combined 112 Premier League assists to date and are the top two assisting defenders in the history of the league. A further no-brainer is Virgil van Dijk’s inclusion at the heart of the defence, with the new Liverpool captain being the most dominant and imperious presence fans have seen at the heart of the Liverpool backline.
The debate within the back five surrounds Van Dijk’s central defensive partner. The two strongest contenders are Jamie Carragher and Joel Matip as both men have felt the love of Liverpool fans during their respective times with the club. The pair have both starred in Champions League final wins and while some Reds fans would stick with the passion and fire of Carragher, we have decided to keep Van Dijk with his elegant and underrated partner, Matip. Mr Liverpool himself – Steven Gerrard – is the first name on the team sheet for the Merseyside outfit and no one will disagree on that. The all-action midfielder was a sensation and one of the best central midfielders in the world during his best years. The man tasked with linking the defence to his fellow midfielders and attackers is Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard was a cultured and extremely talented passer of the ball during his days at Anfield and those qualities put him just ahead of Javier Mascherano and Fabinho in the holding midfield role.
Steven Gerrard Three of the best players to have pulled on the famous red shirt, each man was deadly in front of goal at their peak. Suarez initially broke the record for the highest-scoring Premier League season in 2013/14 as he tore defences apart for fun before Salah then broke that record in his debut season for the club. The Egyptian has been the main source of goals for Liverpool under Klopp, and Mane wasn’t far behind in importance to the team while he was at Anfield. Predicting which team would win Guardiola’s men would be the most likely side to win as the well-oiled machine would likely overrun a midfield containing both Thiago and Alonso. Liverpool would probably look to play on the counter-attack with the electricity of Salah and Mane on the wings and Suarez in the middle to pull it all together. The slight edge goes to City in this one, but in all honesty, it could go either way. It is a great shame that we are not able to actually see these two incredible sides go head-to-head.
Liverpool faces more challenges in selecting their greatest Premier League team due to their consistent success throughout the competition’s history.
There has been a very competitive rivalry between both sides since Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola came to the Premier League, but who would win this hypothetical match?
MixCollage-22-Nov-2023-10-36-AM-246
To get the easiest part out of the way, there is only one manager that could possibly lead this Man City team, and that is Guardiola. The Spaniard is up there as one of the best Premier League managers of all time. He has overseen five Premier League successes in his seven years in England and has even helped guide the Citizens to a historic treble in the 2022/23 campaign.
In order to allow the attacking players to do all the incredible work they do going forward, Rodri and Yaya Toure have been selected to patrol the midfield with the latter having the freedom to burst forward and get involved in trademark fashion. Rodri is the glue that holds the current City team together, and it is near impossible to leave the Spanish maestro out of the XI, while Toure is one of the best midfielders in Premier League history.
MixCollage-22-Nov-2023-10-41-AM-1526
There are actually more straightforward choices when it comes to the side that will be led by Jurgen Klopp. Rafael Benitez is the only real competition to the German boos, but being honest, it’s an easy choice. Similarly, Pepe Reina provides competition for Alisson Becker, but the current Liverpool number one is the clear winner. The Brazilian is up there with the very best shot-stoppers the division has ever seen, and he is extremely composed when distributing from the back.
A midfield trio that would rival anyone in the world in terms of technical ability is complete with Thiago Alcântara. Injury issues are the only downside to the Spanish maestro, but a fully fit Thiago is one of the most skillful players on the planet. That midfield would be tasked with supplying chances for a deadly front three in the form of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Luis Suárez.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp
This would be a battle for the ages, with two of the best managers in Premier League history locking horns. Both sets of players have so much talent running through them, but there is one side that would have something the other doesn’t. Man City’s team is full of players that have played together and there is a strong chance that this exact line-up was fielded at least once – perhaps except for one player. Liverpool’s side does have many players in the same boat as the majority of their players are still with the club, but the chemistry of the Citizens’ XI wouldn’t be quite there.
