The pointless international break is finally friggin' over! No more stupid breaks till next year, phew!
And what better way to kick tings off this weekend than a Premier league top of the table clash between Liverpool and Manchester city!
Liverpool sit just 1 point off the top. Ideally they should have been at the top had they not dropped points at luton unnecessarily. Or had they not been robbed by the referee against Tottenham.
Either way, this is well poised to turn out to be a cracker of a game!
We can almost guess 90% of Liverpool's starting lineup. The only questions are whether Luis Diaz starts ahead of Jota down the left wing and whether the Agent of Chaos Darwin Nunez start ahead of Cody Gakpo through the center.
I think Luis Diaz has to start, he is electric and brings life out of nowhere down that left wing. Against a solid team like Man City, it will really come down to Liverpool's individual brilliance if they are to take 3 points from the Etihad.
Speaking of individual brilliance, Darwin Nunez should also ideally start. Even though he has been somewhat a hit and miss, but his ability to terrorize defenders with his chaos and physical presence is something I bet Klopp will count on to disrupt the stability of the Man City backline. Against Chelsea, we have seen there are some obvious vulnerabilities in their defense - and so Liverpool WILL get their chances. Whether they capitalize on them is a whole different conversation.
Alright, the lineup is in!
Nunez starts, check! Jota starts ahead of Luis Diaz, but I am pretty sure we will see Diaz come on at some point in the game.
In the midfield Curtis Jones starts. Jones is a fantastic fantastic player on his day. I am just hoping he is not having an off day today and he hits the park up and running. He has had quite a long injury lay off. Hope he is ready for such a blockbuster clash.
Liverpool's defense looks shaky though. Tsimikas up against Foden and TAA against Doku look very very frightening. As a liverpool fan, it is not very encouraging.
Start!
Bright start for city at the etihad. Liverpool playing catchup. A mistake from Jones almost resulted in the first city goal. Ominous early signs, the first city goal seems only a matter of time now.
City again comes very close to scoring. Liverpool haven't played bad here let's be honest. It's just that city has been relentless.
And Man City Score. Not good from Alison, a very bad clearance. Very very poor. Poor defending all around.
City almost had two! Foden sends it wide! Oh, actually Alison brings out a save.
Half Time, Man City 1-0 Liverpool!
No changes for Liverpool at the half time then.
Liverpool get the game underway.
Liverpool a lot more proactive in the second half, but they are just not cutting through this city defense.
Luis Diaz coming on for Jota. Gravenberch on for Jones. Timely changes I would say.
For all the good work Liverpool has done this half, it's City who looks more threatening and likely to score the next goal.
Wait what? Szoboszlai comes off for Gakpo? How does that make sense?
Great save by Alison!
What a strike from Trent Alexander Arnold! 1-1! With 10 minutes to go, these last few minutes will be fiesty!
Freekick from a very dangerous position for Man City. The wall keeps it out, for now.
Darwin Nunez and McAllister comes off for Harvey Elliot and Wataru Endo. Adding some fresh legs for the final sprint!
Another dangerously poised freekick for City.
8 minutes of added time for war!
And that will be it at the Etihad! All square, Liverpool stay 1 point behind City at the top of the table.