Manchester City and Liverpool will meet for the third time this season in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Neither team has played a competitive match in over a month, but both have been practicing in preparation for their return to action.
Manchester City defeated Girona 2-0, while Liverpool fell 3-1 to Lyon before defeating AC Milan 4-1.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will be able to field much stronger teams for their clash now that their World Cup players have returned.
Man City had 16 players called up to play in the World Cup, but many of them have already returned to the club, with only one, Julian Alvarez, staying past the quarterfinal stage in Qatar.
Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan were both eliminated in the tournament’s group stages, but they were able to play in their team’s friendly against Girona alongside Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez.
Only seven Liverpool players traveled to Qatar for the World Cup, but five have already returned, with only Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate yet to do so.
Having kept a number of first-team players, including Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, on the bench for the past month, Klopp is unlikely to rush anyone back.
Both teams will be eager to make a strong comeback after a month on the sidelines, but Liverpool appears to be the more likely.
This is primarily because Klopp has more first-team players at his disposal than Guardiola, giving him a stronger squad overall and making his team favourites.
KICKOFF TIME: Liverpool versus Manchester City match will go down today at 9PM Nigerian time.
