MY ACCOUNT
– Both teams could be significantly weakened with star players still returning from Qatar
– Manchester City’s reserves beat Chelsea in the last round while Liverpool struggled past Derby
– Recommended bet: Manchester City to win and both teams to score
A clash between Manchester City and Liverpool is never a low-profile encounter but with World Cup stars only just returning and the League Cup the least important of the four competitions that both clubs are involved in, the starting XIs could have an unfamiliar look.
However, even in this compressed, hectic campaign, fierce competitors Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will not be looking to throw a competition that has been won by one of the two managers in each of the past five seasons.
Manchester City vs Liverpool (Thursday, 8pm)
Team news
City have a fully fit squad but Guardiola is likely to rest the majority of the players who have only recently returned from Qatar.
World Cup winner Julian Alvarez will definitely miss out, as he has yet to return from celebrating with Argentina.
Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate is unavailable as the Frenchman also featured in the World Cup final, while attacker Diogo Jota is expected to be out until February with a calf injury.
Fellow forward Luis Diaz is not expected to return until March after damaging his medial collateral ligament, and midfielder Arthur Melo is unavailable with a thigh injury.
The stats
Between them, Liverpool and City have won eight of the last 11 League Cup finals, with the Reds breaking City’s run of four consecutive titles last season, beating Chelsea on penalties at Wembley.
Klopp will be looking to make it six matches unbeaten against Guardiola. The Reds beat City 3-1 in the Community Shield in July and followed up with a 1-0 Premier League win at Anfield in October.
Last season, Klopp’s troops beat City 3-2 in their FA Cup semi-final clash and both league meetings ended 2-2.
City have won 11 of their 12 home games this season, but the exception was a defeat in their last outing before the World Cup break — a 2-1 home loss to Brentford.
Liverpool have won only three of their nine away games this term but all three victories have come in their last four road trips.
Despite usually fielding a weakened XI, City are unbeaten in 90 minutes in their last nine League Cup matches — their only failure in that run came on penalties to West Ham after a 0-0 draw and they won the other eight in normal time.
Guardiola’s men beat Chelsea 2-0 in the last round despite starting youngsters Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer and Sergio Gomez, as well as reserve goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
In contrast, Liverpool’s second string only just struggled past League One Derby on penalties at Anfield in round three.
Prediction
This is a tough game to predict given the low-priority nature of the competition and the number of key men who are likely to be rested.
Almost all of the players who went to the World Cup will be back at their clubs before this match kicks off but neither manager will want to push any squad members who featured heavily in Qatar.
One player who did not go to Qatar and will want to shake off the rust in the League Cup is City striker Erling Haaland. The Norwegian has netted an incredible 23 goals in 18 appearances already this season and would make a good addition to any Bet Builder selections.
However, City’s home record and the impressive performance of their second string when beating a strong Chelsea XI in the last round makes them solid favourites — particularly when adding in Liverpool’s poor away record this term.
And with both teams scoring in six of the last seven meetings between the pair, backing City to win and both teams to score — available at 19/10 with LiveScore Bet — looks the best way to go.
