Liverpool welcome Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday with an unbeaten record to protect and an attack to rebuild. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are out, Erling Haaland is fit, and Andoni Iraola must find a way to turn a promising defensive improvement into a result against the Premier League leaders.
City have won all five of their league matches under Enzo Maresca. Liverpool have won two and drawn three. Both can point to an unbeaten start, but the six-point gap tells a more useful story: City have been finding ways to win while Liverpool are still working out their best balance.
The visitors also return to action after the financial-rules verdict that has dominated the international break. That will shape the reception at Anfield. What happens once the game starts will depend on whether Liverpool can disrupt City without leaving Haaland the space he needs.
Liverpool vs Manchester City: kick-off time and TV coverage
- Competition: Premier League
- Date: Sunday 11 October 2026
- Venue: Anfield
- Kick-off: 4.30pm BST
- UK television: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
Sky Sports’ dedicated match build-up begins at 4pm, with streaming available through NOW.
Liverpool team news: Isak and Gakpo leave a difficult gap
Liverpool have confirmed that Isak and Gakpo will miss the match after picking up thigh and ankle injuries respectively on international duty. Iraola does not expect either absence to be long-term, but neither will be ready for City.
Hugo Ekitike remains unavailable, as do Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni. Jeremy Jacquet is expected to be available following his hamstring concern, while Federico Chiesa has returned to training but remains uncertain for a match role.
The obvious question is who leads the attack. Lewis Koumas offers a centre-forward option. Bradley Barcola can move inside, while Florian Wirtz could operate as a false nine. These are selection possibilities, not a confirmed line-up.
Barcola through the middle would allow Liverpool to keep a runner ahead of Wirtz. Using Wirtz there could create an extra passing option in midfield, but would place greater responsibility on the wide players to attack the penalty area. Either choice needs a clear plan for getting bodies beyond City’s defenders.
Manchester City team news: Haaland available, Foden suspended
Maresca has confirmed Haaland is fit after his precautionary withdrawal during Norway’s defeat by Portugal. Phil Foden remains suspended following his dismissal in the Manchester derby.
Antoine Semenyo trained on Thursday after withdrawing from Ghana’s squad and is expected to start, according to The Standard’s team news report. Nico O’Reilly remains a doubt after an injury forced him to leave the England camp.
Recent form: Liverpool tighten up, City keep winning
Liverpool’s 1–0 victory at Bournemouth before the break extended their unbeaten start to seven matches in all competitions. More encouragingly, they have kept three consecutive Premier League clean sheets.
There has been some pragmatism behind that improvement. Sky Sports’ assessment of Iraola’s early work highlights his use of Ronald Araujo at right-back and his willingness to change the midfield. He is adapting the side while trying to establish his pressing game.
City’s last league outing was a 5–3 win over Sunderland. It demonstrated their scoring power, but conceding three at home also gives Liverpool something to examine. Sky’s analysis of that match detailed how Sunderland’s aggression and Brian Brobbey’s hold-up play unsettled City.
Liverpool cannot simply reproduce that approach with their available forwards. They can, however, take encouragement from the opportunities Sunderland created. City’s perfect points return does not mean opponents have been kept quiet.
The tactical battle: can Liverpool make the press count?
The most revealing numbers come from Opta’s pre-match statistics, published by Liverpool. Across their opening five league games, Liverpool applied high-intensity pressure to 48.9% of opposition touches in the opposition half, the highest rate in the division. City completed 83% of passes attempted under high-intensity pressure, also a league-leading figure.
That points to the central contest: Liverpool want to hurry the pass; City have been particularly good at completing it anyway.
My reading is that Liverpool’s midfield positioning will matter as much as the energy of the first challenge. If the forwards press and the players behind them cannot close the next passing lane, City can turn an attempted turnover into an attack.
At the other end, recovering possession is only half the job. Without Isak and Gakpo, Liverpool need someone attacking the space behind while another player offers a shorter pass. Otherwise, a promising regain can end with City reorganised and Liverpool passing in front of them.
City’s verdict adds tension to the occasion
Reuters reports that an independent commission found City guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules, alongside failures to co-operate with the investigation. Sanctions have yet to be determined. City deny wrongdoing and have lodged an appeal.
The Guardian reports that Maresca has declined to commit to staying should City’s appeal fail.
That context belongs in the preview, but it cannot tell us how City will perform. Liverpool still have to earn the advantage on the pitch. A charged crowd can help sustain pressure; it cannot supply the missing finish or cover a gap in midfield.
Football Fanatix verdict
City’s winning start and Haaland’s availability give them the stronger case, particularly against a Liverpool attack missing two important players. Liverpool’s defensive improvement gives the hosts a credible route to a result, though, and City’s performance against Sunderland showed there will be opportunities if the pressure is well organised.
For Iraola, the challenge is to make an unfamiliar attack function without undoing the progress behind it. Liverpool need chances that their available forwards can use, and the discipline to deny City the same. That will matter more than the volume inside Anfield.
