November 8, The City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, UK | Manchester City and Liverpool played out a hard-fought draw in the English Premier League on Sunday.
The result takes Liverpool into third place on 17 points behind leaders Leicester City and Tottenham, while Manchester City moves into 11th place on 12 points. Some long-standing questions about lineups for both sides were answered when the team sheets were announced an hour before kickoff.
Gabriel Jesus, who made his return from injury midweek in City’s Champions League comprehensive win over Olympiakos, was fit enough to lead the line against Liverpool. Guardiola didn’t really spring any other surprises, however, selecting a balanced midfield and the promising duo of Laporte and Dias in the heart of the defense.
Jurgen Klopp deemed Joel Matip fit enough to start this match, hoping that he would add nous and experience to the Red’s backline. Matip was an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Serie A side Atalanta, but most believed that Klopp would go with the Cameroonian if he was fit enough for this match in the English Premier League.
The lineup surprise came in the form of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino. Much of the pre-match punditry had been spent discussing whether Klopp should start the lagging Firmino or replace him in the side with the sparkling Jota fresh off a hat-trick in European competition. Klopp decided to start them both, electing an attacking side that was clearly set up to try and win maximum points.
Manchester City Starting XI: Ederson; Laporte, Dias, Cancelo, Walker; Rodri, Gündogan, De Bruyne; Jesus, Sterling, Torres Formation: 4-3-3
Subs: García, Stones, Aké, Silva, Zinchenko, Steffen, Foden
Liverpool Starting XI: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold; Wijnaldum, Henderson; Jota, Firmino, Mané; Salah Formation: 4-2-3-1
Subs: Milner, Adrián, Shaqiri, Origi, Jones, Keita, Phillips