"It is an intriguing game" - Danny Murphy previews PL encounter between Manchester City and Liverpool

Former Liverpool star Danny Murphy has analyzed his former club's upcoming encounter against Manchester City on Saturday, 25 November.

The Reds are set to lock horns with the Cityzens at the Etihad this weekend as the Premier League returns to action after the international break. The Merseyside seem to have regained some of their dominant form in the English top tier this season after their fifth-place finish last term.

Jurgen Klopp's side are one point behind league leaders Manchester City in second place. This means a win in their upcoming clash would see Liverpool leapfrog the reigning champions to the top of the league table.

Ahead of what one would expect to be an entertaining fixture, Murphy has offered his preview of the game. The pundit said on talkSPORT:

"I think it is an intriguing game. What City have been doing recently is releasing one of the center-halves into midfield, whether it be Akanji or Stones, rather than a full-back."

"We saw [against] Chelsea, that if you got pace against them, and a quick turnover, there's space to run into. And if Liverpool have Diaz, Salah, and Nunez up top... There's no one better equipped at utilizing spaces behind teams than those three," he continued.

He added:

"I don't see City at home changing what they've been doing. They're confident in keeping the ball and scoring goals themselves. The way City play, it's a great thing to watch."

Murphy further stated:

"On the flip side what you have is Liverpool releasing Trent into a midfield area from right-back. And if Doku plays, with his amazing pace and directness, that's going to cause Liverpool a problem."

"Because Konate has been injured. And if Matip plays there and has to cover Trent... Lack of athleticism against Doku. So there's all these little tactical things going on," he added.

It remains to be seen who will come out on top between the Reds and Manchester City this weekend.

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Glen Johnson names one Liverpool player who can 'stop' Erling Haaland ahead of Manchester City clash

Former Liverpool defender Glen Johson believes Virgil van Dijk can subdue in-form Manchester City star Erling Haaland in their Premier League encounter this weekend. The pundit, however, warned his former club not to focus too much on the Norwegian striker.

Haaland has had an excellent start to the 2023/24 campaign for Manchester City, continuing his exceptional goalscoring form from last term. The Norway international has already racked up 17 goals in 18 appearances across competitions.

The former Borussia Dortmund star will look to get on the scoresheet against the Reds this weekend as well. Johnson is intrigued to see how the battle between Haaland and Van Dijk will play out.

He said in an interview with Squawka:

"If anyone can stop Haaland, Van Dijk can. The issue is, with City it's not just about him and there are goal threats everywhere. Liverpool have to be careful not just build the whole game plan around Haaland."

"But in terms of the one-on-one battle between him and Van Dijk, it will be interesting to see how they take the game on. I'm interested to see if Haaland will look to go in behind or drop off and pull Van Dijk away from the defensive line," he added.