Brendan Rodgers takes charge of his first game for Liverpool at Anfield in the league on Sunday and will be looking to make it more enjoyable than his visit to the Hawthorns last Saturday. Roberto Mancini will hope to prove his squad have what it takes to retain the Premier League crown and it doesn’t come much tougher than an away fixture to Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers had a dreadful opening day to the season seeing his side well beaten to West Bromwich Albion, Sunday’s game sees him without star defender Daniel Agger who was suspended after bringing Shane Long down in the box denying a goal scoring opportunity. The performance had positives there were segments of play where they enjoyed much of the ball and created openings, Suarez finishing ability was questionable and will look to redeem himself against City. Manchester City opened their season at home to newly promoted Southampton, it proved to be anything but straight forward having to come from behind to eventually grab all three points. Mancini witnessed his star striker Sergio Aguero stretchered off to a knee injury that wasn’t as bad as first feared but will keep him out for a couple of weeks.
Liverpool- Rodgers will look to get the right balance between attack and defence if he is to get a result against the current champions. Daniel Agger's suspension means Skrtel will be playing alongside Carragher, Coates or Kelly. Carragher will be the most likely to fill in with his experience in big games such as these, I would like to see either of the younger and more energetic Coates or Kelly. The ability both possess isn’t in doubt, they can become top quality Premier League defenders but it could prove to be too high of a risk as we saw with Manchester City's own Stefan Savic. This would suggest Rodgers will go with Carragher, he might not have the pace or ability he had many years ago but Jamie is still a top class defender but this could lead to Liverpool playing much deeper. Sahin has recently signed for Liverpool on a season long loan from Real Madrid however he won’t be available for selection as the deal didn’t go through in time. Liverpool’s options in midfield are plentiful, with Rodgers preferred formation 4-3-3 the three likely to start will be Lucas, Gerrard and Allen. Lucas will operate in the defensive midfield role as is always the case with Allen essentially playing alongside thus allowing Gerrard the freedom to burst forward creating and scoring opportunities. Finally Liverpool's attacking options come with two inverted wingers and a lone striker, Downing and Borini were the wide men against WBA but with the signing of Oussama Assaidi he could be in contention for a start. Assaidi will add raw pace something Liverpool have lacked for many years, Suarez will be deployed as the lone striker and there’s no doubting his trickery and skill make him a dangerous opponent but his finishing has been the downside to his game and will look to rectify that quickly.
Manchester City- They have become a team that fears no opponent but Anfield last season saw them only earn a point after initially taking the lead. Defensively they have the best centre back in the Premier league, Vincent Kompany. There a strong unit and when on top form concede very little and with Joe Hart between the sticks even when the defence is beaten he is there deny the opposition. There midfield will need to stop the possession football Liverpool will look to play, Toure, Nasri, Silva, Rodwell, Barry or Milner the depth they have has an abundance in quality. There creative players will look to open up the Reds defence with through balls in behind the full backs or may try a direct approach straight through the middle with a bursting Toure run. The attacking options at Mancini's disposal are of a much higher quality compared to Rodgers, Tevez, Dzeko and Balotelli are in contention to start on Sunday. Aguero will miss the match and is a big blow to Manchester City his goals helped seal the tile and with one kick of his right foot against QPR he scored the goal that brought the trophy to the Etihad. The two most likely to start up front for Manchester City look to be a rejuvenated Carlos Tevez and with Mancini's seemingly favouritism of Balotelli over Dzeko the Italian will start. They guarantee goals and Tevez is a natural goal scorer given any half chance he can finish with supreme quality, Balotelli on the other hand is young and raw but can create magic from nothing and is growing into an extremely talented footballer.
Key Player- Carlos Tevez, the Manchester City forward had a torrid time last season mostly of his own causing after his controversial decision not to come on a as a sub against Bayern Munich. That’s all behind him now and after the summer breaks he’s back and looks a lean quicker and intelligent footballer that he was renowned for. He will need to get in behind a tough experienced defence that Liverpool will deploy against him. His job is simple score the goals and offer runs to the midfielders who will look to play him through on goal. Tevez is a special player he can score goals when the odds are stacked against him from narrow angles to being out numbered on the counter but he will still manage to find the net. The partnership he has with fellow country and club team mate Aguero is instinctive but he will have to link up with Balotelli or Dzeko and they must click straight away if they are to be successful. Tevez will need all his experience and skill if he is to get on the score sheet at Anfield.
The game looks set to be a cracker with both teams needing a result with city looking to keep the pressure on at the top and Liverpool looking to register their first win in the league and lift them off the bottom.
Full Time Result - Liverpool 1 - 2 Manchester City
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