Man Cityvs.Liverpool

Liverpool expert David Lynch has claimed that Andrew Robertson could be detrimental to the Reds' chances of beating Manchester City on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side are set to host the Merseysiders at the Etihad in the Premier League, with the Reds coming into the clash top of the Premier League table while City are fourth.

However, Arne Slot's team were held to a 2-2 stalemate by Aston Villa on Wednesday and have drawn two of their past three league games, conceding five goals in that time.

Lynch expressed his concern that the likes of Andrew Robertson could be targeted in defence by City winger Savinho, telling Sports Mole: "Andy Robertson seems to be really struggling with playing three games a week now. He's clearly coming to the end of being able to do that frequently.

"Left-back is an area 100% Liverpool have to look at this summer and it will be an area that they look at this summer, so there's possibly more joy down there to have because for me Robertson's been extremely patchy this season. That is a bit of a worry, that [City could attack down] either flank [and] get at Liverpool.

"But for them, [they could get joy from] transitions if they get enough pace in the team. If Pep does lean into that, then that's a little bit of a worry for Liverpool [that they] can they be got at down the flanks."

Trent Alexander-Arnold has often been criticised for his defensive work during his time at Anfield, but Robertson's performances on the left side of defence in 2024-25 have arguably been more concerning, with question marks about his long-term future rife.

Liverpool have the upper hand in midfield

Liverpool emerged as 2-0 victors in the reverse fixture on December 1, with goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah enough to secure a deserved win.

In the buildup to Sunday's game, Slot hailed his side's performance against the Citizens as arguably the team's best display under him, and the victory was undoubtedly achieved as a result of Liverpool's dominance in midfield.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch emphasised the importance of coming out on top in the middle of the pitch, saying: "That midfield area is key, that's where Liverpool ran all over Manchester City in the meeting at Anfield earlier this season and they'll hope to do that again.

"One thing you worry about from a Liverpool perspective is they're playing a lot of games at the moment, so that is sapping a bit of energy, and you may be seeing that from Gravenberch at the moment, but the upside is that City had a gruelling game, they had to go out to Madrid, so that levels things up for Liverpool and helps them out, so they'll hope to dominate that area again."

City have been routinely outmatched physically in the middle of the pitch, with Guardiola having lost a record 13 times this season, but Reds midfielder Ryan Graveberch only won one of his seven ground duels against Aston Villa.

Alexis Mac Allister won 10 of his 17 ground duels, but Slot will need Gravenberch to rediscover his defensive nous if his side are to win at the Etihad.

Are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cody Gakpo key?

Alexander-Arnold broke away from the backline during a counter-attack against Villa and ended up on the edge of the penalty area to score his side's second goal on Wednesday night.

The right-back proved to be one of his team's biggest threats last time out, especially as forward Gakpo was ruled out of the match due to an injury, though the Dutchman is expected to be involved in some capacity on Sunday.

Lynch insisted that the duo could be pivotal for Liverpool's chances of victory when he told Sports Mole: "Liverpool need to take their chances - [they were] so erratic [with their] finishing in the Aston Villa game. They should have won that game on the basis of the chances they created and you can't just leave it all to Mo Salah. Somebody else has got to start chipping in.

"They'll hope Gakpo is back, that would be helpful because he's second top scorer and that makes the front line more potent, but it has to probably [be more potent] as while Salah might get his customary goal against Man City, they'll want someone else to chip in as well to make it a little bit more straightforward.

"I feel for Trent Alexander-Arnold because he was truly dreadful in that Manchester United game at Anfield and it's coloured perceptions about him. That's already out there, that idea that he can't defend and at times he's been poor in that aspect but generally defensively, he's had quite a good season. I thought [he was] very good against Aston Villa in that aspect and Liverpool lost a lot of thrust going forward when he went off."

Salah leads the way in the Premier League for goals (24) and assists (15) but Gakpo has quietly had an excellent campaign so far, scoring 16 goals and producing five assists in all competitions for the Reds, and he has found the back of the net against Real Madrid, Man City, Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen.

It should also be noted that Alexander-Arnold also scored his side's second goal against Manchester City at the Etihad last season in the Premier League when the teams played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in November 2023.

Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion between Liverpool expert David Lynch and Steven McInerney of Esteemed Kompany ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash.

Written by

Lewis Nolan