“I’m really excited to see the sensation of the season in the flesh” – Mark Lawrenson backs Erling Haaland to start but makes surprising prediction for Liverpool vs Man City

Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes his old club will hold Manchester City to a draw in this weekend's huge Premier League encounter on Sunday (October 16).

The two most recent champions of England will go head-to-head at Anfield in the biggest encounter of gameweek 10, with the two teams in contrasting form. The Reds have won just two of their eight Premier League encounters and currently sit 13 points behind Pep Guardiola's side.

Meanwhile, City will be aiming to win their fifth title in six seasons and are just a point away behind leaders Arsenal, while still unbeaten in the league. However, the Cityzens' record at Anfield is atrocious, with just one victory in their previous 21 visits.

While Guardiola stated that star forward Erling Haaland could miss the clash at Liverpool, Lawrenson is certain that the Norwegian will start. Haaland has netted 20 times in 13 appearances this term, However, Lawrenson believes City will be happy to take a point off Jurgen Klopp's side.

The Reds legend predicted a 1-1 draw for the encounter, as he explained to Paddy Power:

"I’m going to this and I’m really excited to see the sensation of the season in the flesh. Manchester City said Erling Haaland was tired and he didn’t play during the week but he’ll play against Liverpool. No doubt about that."

"Liverpool were a little bit unlucky against Arsenal and they’re still conceding lots of goals. I think City will be happy to take a point here, regardless of how well they’re playing, and move on to next week."

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Liverpool looking to build on emphatic Champions League victory

The Reds put on a sensational display at Anfield this week with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Rangers on October 12. Mohamed Salah came on as a substitute and scored the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history.

Following the victory in Glasgow, Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his team but recognized that the Man City game would be an entirely different proposition. The German told BT Sport (as per BBC Sport):

"The goals we scored were exceptional. it's a night where things worked out for us. It changes the mood definitely, and that's good. We all know who is coming on Sunday. That will be different, but it's better to go in with the feeling from tonight."