When Manchester City step out onto the Anfield pitch this Sunday, it will mark the beginning of a whole new era for English football's modern blockbuster.
For the first time since 2015, neither Pep Guardiola nor Jürgen Klopp will be patrolling the touchline. Instead, it is Andoni Iraola leading out the Reds against Enzo Maresca's league leaders.
Just take a look at the team sheets from that famous afternoon back in March 2015 how times have changed!
That day, Brendan Rodgers who was the Reds manager at the time he named his side as Liverpool lined up.
Simon Mignolet in goal, behind a back three of Emre Can, Martin Skrtel, and Dejan Lovren. Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno flanked a midfield unit of Joe Allen, Philippe Coutinho, and captain Jordan Henderson.
Up front, Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling led the attack a completely strikerless side with Daniel Sturridge, Mario Balotelli, and Fabio Borini all named on the bench.
Manuel Pellegrini's City arrived boasting a monstrous XI:
Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Eliaquim Mangala, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Touré, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, and Sergio Agüero.
Yet, against all odds, a strikerless Liverpool blew the reigning champions away 2-1.Henderson opened the scoring with an absolute rocket of a curl into the top corner a goal that was pure, madness before Dzeko equalised for City.
But Philippe Coutinho produced a moment of magic with fifteen minutes remaining, swerving a sensational 25-yard winner past Hart to send Anfield into absolute bedlam.
Fast forward to Sunday, and Liverpool fans are asking themselves a familiar, nerve-wracking question: Can Iraola repeat Rodgers trick and claim victory without a proper natural striker?
The Basque manager confirmed the news every Red was dreading in his friday pre-match press conference:
"Alex Isak and Cody Gakpo will not play the game,"Iraola revealed."They are not ready. Unfortunately for us, both got injuries during the international break. As a club manager, you are always waiting until the games end, that the doctor doesn't call you and then gives you bad news. But in this case we've been unlucky with Alex and Cody – both of them are injured and they are not going to be involved on Sunday."
With Isak nursing a thigh issue, Gakpo suffering an ankle injury, and Hugo Ekitike out long-term, Iraola's options at centre-forward are completely wiped out.
It leaves the manager contemplating a makeshift frontline either shifting Bradley Barcola into a central role or handing a baptism of fire to young Lewis Koumas or Victor Muñoz against the Blues
Yet, history suggests that no matter who wears the shirt, Anfield has a funny way of levelling the playing field.
City may arrive top of the table and boasting incredible clinical efficiency scoring 13 goals from fewer overall shots than Liverpool, whose total of 76 shots have scored seven league goals so far. But defensively, Alisson Becker has been in formidable form, keeping three clean sheets in his last five outings to give Iraola's backline absolute reliability.
In the entire 34-year history of the Premier League, Manchester City have managed just three wins from 29 away visits to Anfield.
What Iraola can learn and emulate on Sunday
For Iraola, whose high-intensity Basque pressing system thrives on chaos and swift transitions, Rodgers' 2015 blueprint isn't just a nostalgic memory—it is a practical survival guide.
- Target City's Centre-Backs: City's defensive line prefers dealing with fixed targets like Isak. By deploying Bradley Barcola or Lewis Koumas as a mobile central trigger rather than a traditional box-occupier, Iraola can pull City's center-backs out of position, creating space for Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Muñoz to make late, unchecked runs into the penalty box.
- Overload the half-spaces: In 2015, Coutinho and Lallana wrecked Pellegrini's midfield double-pivot by receiving the ball on the half-turn between the lines. Iraola can recreate this by instructing Szoboszlai and his interior midfielders to operate directly behind Enzo Maresca's mid-block, forcing City's full-backs to make uncomfortable inside decisions.
- Rely on the Anfield 3-in-29 psychological barrier: Tactics aside, City’s abysmal historical record at Anfield winning just 3 of 29 Premier League visits means the moment Iraola’s makeshift front three force an early turnover or register a shot on target, the L4 crowd will do the rest.
Add to that the toxic, boiling atmosphere awaiting Maresca's squad with Sunday marking City's first league fixture since an independent commission found them guilty of financial rule breaches over a nine-year period and the cauldron of Anfield is ready.
On the red side of Merseyside, where title races were decided by the finest margins against City, the Kop won't need any extra motivation to make their voices heard.
It might feel like false hope on paper given the injury crisis, but as 2015 proved, Liverpool don't always need a natural number nine to tear up the script against City at Anfield.
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