It has been more than 2,925 days since Jurgen Klopp returned from the Etihad in the Premier League with a victory, and there is no better time to bring that to an end than on Saturday.
The short turnaround between the international break and the 12.30pm kick-off leaves little preparation time, which places pressure on Klopp’s team selection.
Who starts at left-back? Ibrahima Konate or Joel Matip? Who takes the left-sided midfield role? And what about the front three?
Four big decisions to make across three different departments, and two Liverpool legends were just as split as fans when weighing up who should make the XI at the Etihad.
Speaking exclusively to This Is Anfield, Phil Thompson and Jan Molby were divided when the abovementioned questions were posed to them.
I’d still go Tsimikas, I get that he’s not been good enough but I think having that left foot gets you out of danger a lot,” Thompson argued.
Presenting the other side of the argument, Molby said: “If Joe [Gomez] is available, I would probably go with Joe. I think it would just make sense, you don’t need to go to the Etihad and ask your full-backs to be attacking.”
The pair were also divided by the midfield conundrum, with Thompson preferring Ryan Gravenberch alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, while Molby wants to see Curtis Jones.
There is an acknowledgement from the duo that it will be another “difficult” contest, but there is a sense that City have looked “vulnerable” at times – giving Liverpool a “great opportunity.”
They will need to take their chances when they come and with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo all to pick from, the Reds are not short on weapons.
But this is where both Molby and Thompson aligned, both selecting Luis Diaz alongside Salah and Nunez as “at some stage, you need to settle on a front three for the biggest games.”
