Liverpool vs. Manchester City: TV channel, kick-off time, live stream, referee, injury and team news
A blockbuster clash is in store at Anfield on Sunday with Arne Slot’s Liverpool hosting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The two teams are not in a direct title race, as has been the case over the last few years, but it’s a match with plenty of talking points and the result can have lasting repercussions for the remainder of the season.
Both teams have not been in great form, winning just once in the last six games in the league. Manchester City cannot afford to drop more points as they are in the title tussle with leaders Arsenal while Liverpool will need the victory to bolster their chances of securing a top four spot.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s game.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event, and Premier League, in the U.K., NBC Sports in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Sunday, Feb. 7 at 4:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. ET; 10:00 p.m. IST, Sunday and 2:30 a.m. AEST, Sunday).
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool.
Referee: Craig Pawson.
VAR: John Brooks.
Injury and Team News:
Liverpool
Alexander Isak, F: ankle, OUT, est. return late March.
Jeremie Frimpong, D: groin, OUT, est. return March.
Joe Gomez, D: rib, OUT.
Conor Bradley, D: knee, OUT for the season.
Giovanni Leoni, D: knee, OUT for the season.
Stefan Bajcetic, M: hamstring, OUT, est. return unknown
Manchester City
Rúben Dias, D: hamstring, DOUBT.
Josko Gvardiol, D: ankle, OUT, est. return early May.
John Stones, D: muscle, OUT, est. return late February.
Savinho, F: knock, OUT, est. return late February.
Jérémy Doku, F: calf, OUT, est. return late February.
Mateo Kovacic, M: ankle, OUT, est. return early March.
Talking Points
Liverpool need Ekitike to maintain his scoring form
When Liverpool signed both Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, both for good money, questions were asked about the logic behind signing two similar strikers. While Isak’s transfer took a bit of time, Ekitike came in and settled quickly. Even after Isak came in, his fitness was a big cause of concern and now that he’s out on a long-term injury, Ekitike’s signing is proving to be a huge blessing for the team.
The forward has been consistent with his goals, scoring 10 in the league and 14 in all competitions. When Mohamed Salah, whose goal-scoring prowess has lifted Liverpool for close to a decade, has struggled this season, Ekitike stepped up and showed why he’s such a big talent. It was his goals against Newcastle that titled the match in Liverpool favour and secured a morale-boosting win.
Liverpool are still fighting in three competitions and they will go hard to secure a place in the top four this season in the league. It’s obvious that they will need Ekitike’s goals consistently for the remainder of the season.
Guardiola’s extraordinary reign coming to an end?
In the history of the sport, there are only a few selected individuals who came in and can take credit for changing the game for the better. Not only his influence in the Premier League, but Guardiola’s coaching also has left its imprints all over the world.
Since signing for Manchester City, Guardiola’s teams won six Premier Leagues titles as well as Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup trophies.
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This season has not been comfortable for his team. Consistency has been a problem for this City team, which underwent a big overhaul since last January. His usual attacking football is there to see but without its trademark control. It was not there last season and it’s also missing this time. On top of all this, there has been constant talk about him leaving the club post this season, despite having one more year in his contract.
A lot of matches are still left to play for Man City and they still have a lot of quality all over the pitch. If it’s indeed the end, Guardiola will hope to finish with a few more titles to his and his team’s name.
Manchester City’s second half problems
Man City were cruising against Tottenham last weekend. When the half-time whistle blew, they were comfortably leading at 2-0. Things changed in the second-half, as it has been the case for Man City this season. They conceded twice and ended up dropping crucial points in a 2-2 draw.
Manchester City have gone on to drop 11 points while leading at the half-time, which is second only to West Ham in the Premier League this season. Earlier City sides under Guardiola barely lost control of the match like they are doing this season. If City are up 2-0 at half-time, the game was more or less considered done. It’s the major reason why they are six points behind Arsenal in the second spot.
“It’s the reality that in the second-half, we drop what we got in the first, maybe because it’s a young team, a younger side than in 10 years, and maybe we need to live it,” Guardiola said. “Maybe we stop trying to do what we’ve done in first halves. We have to grow.”
What Guardiola said also makes sense. It’s a young team, especially in defence. They tried to address this in the transfer market by bringing the experienced and England’s best in Marc Guéhi but the team is still a work in progress. Guardiola will hope to see his team produce more controlled performance against Liverpool, like the one against Newcastle in the second-leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal and not a repeat of the draw against Tottenham.
A win could be huge for both the teams
Both Liverpool and Manchester City need the win to make a statement for the rest of the season. By the time Man City would’ve taken the field at Anfield, Arsenal could be ahead nine points as they face Sunderland on Saturday. A loss against Liverpool would be very demoralising for Man City and it can end their league charge. To overcome a nine-point deficit at this juncture would require some massive drop off from Arsenal, which looks unlikely.
Hugo Ekitike. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool are not in the title fight. Since the last few months, Liverpool’s league season has been all about securing the top four place. Like Man City, they haven’t been able to secure positive results consistently, which led to Manchester United and Chelsea overtaking them. Arne Slot’s team played a good match against Newcastle to clinch all three points. A win against title-chasing Manchester City will be a huge boost to their goal of making it to the top four.
What do the numbers say?
Liverpool have lost just one of their last 22 Premier League home games against Manchester City (W14, D7). The loss (1-4) came when they hosted Man City as reigning champions in February 2021.
After their 3-0 win at the Etihad in November, Manchester City are looking to complete their first league double over Liverpool since 1936-37.
Manchester City were the only Premier League side in 2026 so far who have not conceded a single goal in the first-half of a match, scoring six times themselves. However, they are also the only side who haven’t scored a second-half goal yet, conceding six goals.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has failed to score in all three of his Premier League away games against Liverpool. Anfield is one of just two grounds he’s played at but not scored in the league, along with Sunderland’s Stadium of Light (1 game).
Hugo Ekitiké has scored or assisted every 112 minutes in the Premier League this season (10 goals, 2 assists in 1,342 minutes), the best ratio by a Liverpool player in their first season at the club since Mohamed Salah in 2017-18 (32 goals, 10 assists — one every 70 minutes).
