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Manchester City logo
Premier League | Gameweek 32
Jul 2, 2020 at 8.15pm UK
Etihad Stadium
Liverpool logo

Man City
4 - 0
Liverpool

De Bruyne (25' pen.), Sterling (35'), Foden (45'), Oxlade-Chamberlain (66' og.)
Mendy (41'), Walker (57')
FT(HT: 3-0)

Gomez (24'), Henderson (90+1')

How Liverpool could line up against Manchester City

Sports Mole looks at how newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool could line up for Thursday's showdown with closest challengers and former holders Manchester City.

Liverpool's first match as champions of England for 10,650 days comes at the home of the team they have just dethroned on Thursday as they face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Defeat for City at Chelsea last week mathematically secured the title for Liverpool in record time, keeping them an unassailable 23 points clear of their closest challengers with seven games of the season remaining.

The Merseysiders, who last lifted the trophy 30 years ago, will now have their sights set on breaking Man City's own records for most points, most wins and biggest title-winning margin in Premier League history.

Jurgen Klopp's men could take another stride towards that at the Etihad, and here Sports Mole looks at how they might line up for the top-two showdown.



Possible LIV XI vs. MNC

Out: Joel Matip (toe)
Doubtful: Xherdan Shaqiri (calf), James Milner (hamstring)

> Click here for Liverpool's latest injury and suspension news ahead of this match

Liverpool will not be able to call upon Joel Matip again this season after the toe injury he sustained in the Merseyside derby proved to be more serious than first thought, although that may not affect Klopp's plans too much.

Indeed, the champions could name an unchanged side to the one which thrashed Crystal Palace last week, with James Milner and Xherdan Shaqiri their only other injury concerns.

The XI named against Palace was what most would regard as their strongest team, and with eight days between matches and no other competition left to fight for this season there appears to be little reason for Klopp to make many changes.

All of the regular members of the first-team squad have already made enough appearances to earn Premier League medals, and the youngsters currently short of the five-game threshold - the likes of Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Neco Williams - will no doubt benefit from the five-sub rule.

There are still individual targets for some key players to reach too - Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are both still in the Golden Boot race, Trent Alexander-Arnold needs just one more assist to break his own single-season record for a defender and Virgil van Dijk is on course to become only the fifth outfield player to play every minute of a Premier League title-winning campaign.

Roberto Firmino will be looking to maintain his impressive away record this season, which includes six goals in seven away games against top-half opposition.

> Click here to see how Manchester City could line up for this contest

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Barney Corkhill
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Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne pictured on June 17, 2020
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Combined XI: Manchester City vs. Liverpool
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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