Liverpool have been tearing through their opponents this season with just one loss in all competitions. The Reds have won each of their last six matches, and all of them were difficult.
They beat Brighton twice, Aston Villa, and Bayer Leverkusen. And they are coming off a huge comeback win over underdogs Southampton, followed by a spellbinding Champions League performance against a team that used to always have their number, Real Madrid.
On Sunday, yet another big match awaits Liverpool, as the best team in the Premier League will take on a distant second, Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s men having every bit of motivation to produce what could fairly be termed as an “upset” when comparing the totally different trajectories each team has taken in their last six matches.
Liverpool, unfortunately, may be without two key defenders. Conor Bradley suffered an injury in a breakout performance against Real Madrid, shutting down Kylian Mbappe in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s absence.
Meanwhile, the other half of the world’s best center back partnership, Ibrahima Konate, also went down injured, and Liverpool coach Arne Slot made it sound like neither player is expected to make the quick turnaround from Wednesday to Sunday against Man City:
“They are still being assessed, so it is difficult to see where they are in terms of the injury. Let’s wait and see, but it is never a good sign that I had to take Conor off and Ibou didn’t walk off the pitch as he should after such a fantastic game. He should have made a round [of the pitch] and clapped the fans but he could not.”
If Bradley’s hamstring injury and Konate’s knee ailment keep them out of Sunday’s Premier League battle, here’s a look at the best possible lineup Liverpool could field vs. Manchester City instead.
GK Caoimhin Kelleher
Thibaut Courtois took center stage in yet another Liverpool vs. Real Madrid battle, but, in the end, it was breakout star Caoimhin Kelleher who landed the clean sheet with an actual penalty save of Kylian Mbappe’s subpar spotkick.
Kelleher has been so good in relief of an injured Alisson Becker that there’s been no noticeable dropoff between himself and the Brazilian, who is widely regarded as the Premier League’s best goalkeeper.
LB Andrew Robertson
Andrew Robertson surrendered a poor penalty in the match against Real Madrid, and it’s debatable if he’s even the first-choice left back due to his precipitous decline this season.
Manchester City’s wingers will have Robertson on high alert, but Liverpool have no other options at left back with Greek international Kostas Tsimikas out with an injury of his own.
CB Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk remains the standard by which all other center backs are compared, and if that’s not a ringing endorsement for his continued status as the world’s best central defender, then I don’t know what is. He’s a guaranteed starter.
CB Joe Gomez
There’s no doubt that losing Ibrahima Konate against an Erling Haaland-led Manchester City attack is a tough blow, but when Joe Gomez catches form, there’s not much of a difference between himself and the French international.
Liverpool should be safe with Gomez going into this game, and, if anything, his elite ball-playing chops could come in handy against a Man City side that has been nowhere near its usual standard of controlling possession.
RB Trent Alexander-Arnold
Conor Bradley put himself on the whole world’s radar with a legitimately elite performance against Real Madrid on both ends of the pitch, creating clear goal-scoring opportunities while limiting Kylian Mbappe to no real offense.
His injury is unfortunate, but since starter Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit to play anyway, Liverpool will be more than fine at right back this Sunday. Alexander-Arnold has such a good matchup against a reeling Man City side that has imploded defensively and hasn’t created many chances outside of Savinho.
CM Ryan Gravenberch
Ryan Gravenberch has a strong case for being the best midfielder in the Premier League this season, and I do agree with a contingent of supporters who feel that his performances merit some Player of the Season love.
When Gravenberch was toiling away on the Bayern Munich bench – or even the Liverpool one last season – who would have thought that we’d be talking about him as the best midfielder on the pitch in a Liverpool vs. Manchester City match?
CM Curtis Jones
And yet, if anyone can challenge Gravenberch’s title as the best midfielder in this game, then it is his teammate, Curtis Jones, who has also been one of European football’s best breakout stars this season.
Jones has been instrumental to Liverpool’s success in so many big wins this season, including posting four dribbles completed, two key passes, and two tackles in a fantastic all-around performance to beat Real Madrid.
AM Alexis Mac Allister
You can’t go wrong with playing Jones higher in the attacking midfield role and using Alexis Mac Allister’s ball-winning and progressive chops as a No. 8 behind him, but after watching the win over Real Madrid, I’d like to keep Macca closer to the goal.
Mac Allister is ripe for a bounce-back, and he was one of the best players in world football during his breakout 2022/23 season for both World Cup champions Argentina and Premier League underdogs Brighton.
Look for Mac Allister to be one of the decisive players against Manchester City, who are still without their three best battling midfielders in Mateo Kovacic, Rodri, and John Stones.
LW Luis Diaz
Luis Diaz has scored five goals in the Premier League this season, and the world-class left winger has the most tantalizing matchup on paper of any star player in this game, looking at how woeful Manchester City right back Kyle Walker has been this season.
Whereas Diaz has been one of the best wingers in the Premier League, it isn’t a stretch to say that Walker has been one of the worst overall players. If Diaz isn’t the Man of the Match on Sunday, then I’ll be disappointed.
ST Darwin Nunez
We all know that Darwin Nunez is a bit uneven as a player, but the Uruguayan international has so much talent and plays the game with so much intensity that I don’t see how you can argue against him being an asset to Liverpool at the end of the day.
As fellow Uruguayan Edinson Cavani should have taught us years ago in Paris, finishing isn’t the only thing that makes a striker great. Nunez has a big opportunity to show his talent against a Man City center back partnership that suddenly looks vulnerable in 2024/25.
RW Mohamed Salah
There is no question that Mohamed Salah is the best player in the Premier League right now, and if Luis Diaz isn’t the Man of the Match this weekend, then it’s probably because the Egyptian icon will outshine him.
Salah is the frontrunner for the Player of the Season award with 10 goals and 6 assists, and he pulled Liverpool up yet again last weekend vs. Southampton. Honestly, if Salah isn’t the frontrunner to win the Ballon d’Or right now, then I don’t know what we’re doing here.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.