By Matt Dudley
Liverpool travel to reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday (4:30pm), with second-placed Arsenal facing West Ham at home on Saturday.
Arne Slot has had an incredible debut season with Liverpool, currently sitting top of the Premier League table with an eight-point gap between themselves and Arsenal.
When appointed, it was a concern amongst fans whether Arne Slot could fill the shoes of the departed Jurgen Klopp, who took the Reds to their first Premier League title in 30 years plus a Champions League trophy.
These concerns have certainly been quashed as confidence continues to grow in the Dutch manager.
The opposite can be said for their opponents Manchester City, whose inconsistent form this season has had the fans and pundits doubting head coach Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League which, for most clubs, is a perfectly-acceptable position – but for Man City, it simply isn’t good enough.
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But how have they done recently?
In the last five matches, Liverpool are unbeaten with three wins and draws coming against local-rivals Everton and most recently against Aston Villa.
Liverpool have scored 12 goals in those five Premier League games, with star man Mohamed Salah scoring half of those.
Alongside this, they have only conceded six in that time, showing the defensive stability of Liverpool.
Manchester City have started to regain some of their form, with the last five league games rewarding them with four wins, the only loss coming from Arsenal in a 5-1 defeat.
Guardiola’s men have scored an impressive 16 goals in that time, a total boosted by the 6-0 win against Ipswich last month.
But with Erling Haaland being sidelined in the Champions League, it is unknown whether he will play against Liverpool which is a huge blow for Sunday’s hosts.
However, they have also conceded eight goals in those five matches and with defender John Stones expected out for a ‘lengthy’ period of time and Kyle Walker’s January exit, City’s defensive options have dwindled down.
What have the managers said?
Pep Guardiola has been full of praise for Slot’s Liverpool side, saying: “Consistency is similar to Jurgen [Klopp]. They deserve to be up there fighting with Arsenal for the title.
“Top team in many aspects. Lost just one game in the Premier League. That’s why it is a good test for us.”
Slot was respectful of the side Manchester City have – but warned them that Liverpool were no pushover with a reminder of their record in the Premier League so far this season.
“What I expect from City is what everybody expects when you go to the Etihad: you have to suffer and work extremely hard because they are so good in possession,” said the Liverpool boss.
“But they also face a strong team that hasn’t lost in 22 games.”
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