By Joel Lefevre

Liverpool can stretch their winning run to three matches across all competitions when they welcome Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday. A 4-1 win over Newcastle United has the Reds sitting sixth in the table, with the Sky Blues in second after playing to a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

Preview

For the first time in a while, there seems to be some positivity around Liverpool, with this team ending January on a high note with two convincing triumphs.

From matchday six to 12, no one lost more Premier League fixtures than Arne Slot’s men (six), but since then, no team has lost fewer games than them (one).

They have points in six successive top-flight affairs at Anfield and on Sunday could win consecutive encounters in this competition for the first time all year.

As things stand, they are just two points below Manchester United for a spot in next season’s Champions League heading into matchday 25.

Their 33 goals conceded this season are the third-most among sides currently in the top-half of the Premier League table, with only Fulham (35) and the Red Devils (36) allowing more. The Reds have lost just one of their previous 22 home meetings against Man City, winning this fixture 2-0 a season ago.

Last weekend, the Sky Blues lost some valuable ground in the race for the title, squandering a 2-0 half-time advantage to Spurs. Pep Guardiola’s side head into matchday 25 six points below Arsenal for first without an away win in the top-flight this year.

That said, they have fared well against defending champions on the road, winning five of those last six such outings. So far in 2026, the 10-time winners of this competition are the only side in the league that have yet to concede in the opening half, while netting six themselves.

On the other hand, they are the only team in the top-flight who have not scored a goal in the final 45 minutes of play this year, conceding six times. A victory this weekend would mark the first time they complete a league double versus the Reds since the 1936-37 campaign, which was also the last time they won back-to-back games  against them.

Team News

The Reds could be without Jeremie Frimpong this weekend due to an injury, while Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are doubtful with knee issues.

An ankle problem will keep Alexander Isak on the Liverpool sidelines, while Jayden Danns and Stefan Bajcetic are dealing with hamstring strains.

Hugo Ekitiké has every 112 minutes in the Premier League this season, the best ratio for a Liverpool player since Mohamed Salah’s rate of one every 70 minutes in 2017-18.  The Frenchman netted a brace in their victory over Newcastle, with Ibrahima Konaté and Florian Wirtz also scoring.

On the City side, Josko Gvardiol is questionable with a shin issue, Savinho has a knock, and John Stones is dealing with a thigh problem. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is doubtful with a sore ankle, Jérémy Doku has a calf strain, and Bernando Silva could sit out because of a back injury.

Erling Haaland has failed to score in all three of his Premier League away visits to Anfield, with the league’s top goalscorer only failing to score when featured at that ground and the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Rayan Cherki netted 11 minutes into their match with Tottenham last week, with Antoine Semenyo putting them 2-0 up just before the half, only for Spurs to storm back.

Predicted XI