Liverpool and Man City meet in the International Champions Cup in New Jersey on Wednesday (1am Thursday UK), in a meeting between arguably England’s two best teams.
Man City vs. Liverpool
Thursday, July 26, 2018 – 1.05am (BST)
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Pre-Season Friendly (6)
After three wins and a draw to start off pre-season, the Reds suffered their first defeat of the summer on Sunday night.
Jurgen Klopp‘s former club Borussia Dortmund earned a 3-1 win despite falling behind, with Loris Karius again at the centre of the negativity.
Naby Keita looked lively during his second-half showing, Daniel Sturridge impressed once more and others continued to earn much-needed playing time.
In truth, Liverpool were the better team in their US tour opener and they will be confident ahead of Thursday’s clash against a weakened City outfit.
This is the second of three International Champions Cup games, with the final match coming against bitter rivals Man United on Saturday.
Team News
Joel Matip limped out of the defeat to Dortmund with a quad injury, leading to him returning to Merseyside for treatment.
Liverpool are hopeful that the Cameroonian will be fit for the Premier League opener at home to West Ham on August 12, though.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane could feature for the first time in pre-season, with short cameos from the bench likely after their return to training this week.
Marko Grujic is also in contention to feature, with the Serb’s future still up in the air amid reports linking him with a loan return to newly-promoted Cardiff City next season.
Gini Wijnaldum has been passed fit after recovering from a muscle injury and a virus, meaning can make his first appearance of the summer.
Klopp has indicated that he will up the workload on certain players a little, giving them nearer 60 minutes, rather than making wholesale changes at half time..
Opposition
Last season was a memorable one for City, who amassed 100 points on their way to a richly deserved Premier League title triumph.
Liverpool beat them three times, though—once in the league and twice in the Champions League quarter-final—proving to be the biggest thorn in their side.
Like the Reds, Pep Guardiola’s side were beaten by Dortmund in their first match in America, with Mario Gotze’s penalty the difference between the two sides.
That was City’s first outing of the summer, making them far more under-cooked than Liverpool, and they are without many big names.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are all still on their post-World Cup holidays.
New big-money signing Riyad Mahrez will feature, though, as will the dangerous Leroy Sane.
MetLife Stadium
Capacity: 82,500
Where is it? 1 MetLife Stadium Drive, East Rutherford, NJ 07073
TV & Live Blog Info
Man City vs. Liverpool is live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO, with coverage getting underway at midnight (BST). It’s also available on Premier Sports TV in the UK.
Kickoff is at 1.05am.
Henry Jackson is on This is Anfield’s live blog, as he talks you through the action across the Atlantic.
Fan Comments