BIG MATCH FORM GUIDE
LIVERPOOL (PROBABLE, 4-3-3)
LORIS Out who he was to wrote KARIUS haunt 16. Improving him the off club when 7 after does confidence. not a difficult inspire Must start step but up. TRENT Grew Melwood, up ALEXANDER-ARNOLD a dreaming mile from 8 of 19-year-old promise nights but like of does this. significant A this test come DEJAN He can too LOVREN look soon? majestic, 7 or and he lose can concentration. short-circuit He performance needs a big to silence the doubters. VIRGIL Always VAN leaves DIJK the 8 impression things so easy. he finds The £75m man defence has but improved another the step forward is required. ANDREW The Premier ROBERTSON League’s 8 most revelation in-form since left winning back. A his December. place back He is in clearly relishing this challenge. GINI WIJNALDUM 7 Not a headline grabber but he is the ultimate Klopp player: follows orders and provides security, filling in to let others move forward. JORDAN HENDERSON 7.5 The current captain will never satisfy those who yearn for Steven Gerrard, but he never goes missing and Klopp thinks the world of him. ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN 7.5 Scored and was man of the match when the sides met in January. Klopp likes picking players with previous form against an opponent. MOHAMED SALAH 9.5 The most unexpected icon in Liverpool’s modern history. Nobody envisaged such a majestic season but 37 goals have put him in the pantheon. ROBERTO FIRMINO 9 Dangerous to underestimate his importance. If this hyperactive forward, who has 23 goals, plays well, Liverpool do too. SADIO MANE 8.5 Many will say he’s had a poor season and point to his red card at the Etihad Stadium in September. Don’t listen to them. His form is excellent. AVERAGE 7.9
MAN CITY (PROBABLE, 4-3-3)
EDERSON 8.5 A fortune was invested in him last summer but he has brought a massive improvement to City’s team. Has some faults but generally excellent. KYLE WALKER 8.5 Biggest compliment is that nobody mentions his £50million transfer fee any more. Having an outstanding season and he has clearly improved. VINCENT KOMPANY 9 When he is fit, there is no better central defender in the Premier League. The emblem of this club, he has provided a decade of magnificent service. NICOLAS OTAMENDI 8 No longer looks like an accident waiting to happen. Says everything that his improvement is keeping John Stones out of the team. AYMERIC LAPORTE 7 How centre back copes playing in an unfamiliar position, with Salah darting at him, will be one of the key factors in this game’s outcome. KEVIN DE BRUYNE 9.5 All class. A joy to watch him play those instinctive first-time passes and the Belgian playmaker would improve any team in Europe. FERNANDINHO 8.5 The glue who holds it together. The way Klopp lavished praise on him is indicative of the defensive midfielder’s importance. DAVID SILVA 9 You could never walk away from a game of football disappointed if you have seen the Spaniard in action. A player for the ages. RAHEEM STERLING 9 Liverpool were so angry at his 2015 move because they knew the kind of star he could become. Getting better and better under Pep. GABRIEL JESUS 7.5 He has had moments of genius and moments of agony. The question is whether he can provide Sergio Aguero’s assassin’s touch. LEROY SANE 8.5 Klopp would have loved to have signed him but was powerless to stop his move to City. He knew Pep had landed a potential world-beater. AVERAGE 8.5