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Manchester City Fantasy Football Fan View v Liverpool
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Written by Adam Wareing from City Watch
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Preview
Manchester City face Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday at the location of their only league defeat so far this season.
The Blues will hope to overcome Jurgen Klopp’s high pressing that led to their self-inflicted capitulation that day and set the tie up for next week’s return leg.
Liverpool will know they must capitalise on home advantage, while City would be happy with a draw, but Pep Guardiola will certainly only play to win the game.
Key battles
Alexander-Arnold v Sane
Trent Alexander-Arnold looked positionally incapable against Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha on Saturday, and he must be more aware if he’s to stop on-fire Leroy Sane.
Sane has been outstanding in recent weeks by hugging the left touchline, stretching defences and then drifting in to reek havoc alongside fellow young guns Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.
Even though Nathaniel Clyne returned from injury to make the bench at the weekend, Alexander-Arnold is expected to start in the hope of preventing a repeat of Sane’s goal in their January meeting.
Salah v City’s left back
City played Aymeric Laporte at left back during their 3-1 destruction of Everton on Saturday, and perhaps he will do the same on the other side of Stanley Park.
Whether it be Laporte, Danilo or the defensively-inexperience Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mohamed Salah must be silenced for City to leave with a positive result.
The Blues’ high positioning and lack of defensive caution will be ideal for the flying Egyptian, so whoever plays there will require discipline and calmness under pressure.
Who to pick
David Silva has taken Kevin De Bruyne’s role as City’s most influential player over the last few weeks with three assists and four goals in his last five games.
Wednesday will require both number tens to be on top of their game to alleviate the Liverpool-induced pressure and find pockets of space.
The Spaniard is an artist at just that, so pick him if you back City to get a result on Wednesday.
Who to avoid
Raheem Sterling’s record at Anfield since leaving the Reds is woeful, so it seems the boo boys get the better of him.
Many have called for Bernardo Silva to take his place on Wednesday purely for that reason, but even a starting spot may not earn you many more points.
If he does play, there’s no doubt he’ll continuously demand the ball in the hope to celebrate in front of the Kop, but previous meetings suggest that scenario is unlikely.
Who to watch
The centre-back pairing is difficult to predict, with Laporte, Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi all in contention to start.
A technically-gifted passer like Laporte or Stones would be ideal to escape small spaces under pressure, and either Kompany or Otamendi will be required to add organisation and brute strength.
A partnership of the two qualities seems likely, so take a look at who starts and that may indicate who is most likely to play and earn points in the home leg too.
