Liverpool lineup vs Man City: No space for Jota, Thiago out, Matip back in

RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold is back to his best and he’ll be looking forward to showing what he’s got against a City side that hasn’t been able to run on all cylinders this season.

Benjamin Mendy is out and that means Guardiola may be forced to field Joao Cancelo or Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back. You’d back Trent to get the better of either of those two, who aren’t the most convincing out there.

CB – Joe Gomez

Gomez has got the ability to be a leader on the field and he’s started to show his quality at the back. Van Dijk always gets his partner playing above and beyond what we thought was possible but Gomez has started doing it on his own.

He’s quick, strong but also an excellent defender and with City struggling to score goals, the England international should be able to nullify whatever threat they throw at Liverpool.

CB – Joel Matip

Is this going to be the return of Big Jo-El Matip? The former Schalke man was on the bench against Atalanta and that must be to preserve those legs for this big game. While Nat Phillips put in an extraordinary display against West Ham, City are a completely different kettle of fish.

If Matip can last the 90, he needs to play here. Those injury worries are always going to be in the background, so Phillips and Rhys Williams will get their chance again – especially with Fabinho is still unavailable.

LB – Andy Robertson

Kostas Tsimikas is fit again but there’s no way Robertson will be left out of this side. The Scot is one of the heartbeats of this team, and he’s so important moving forward and at the back. He starts.