English Premier
2026-10-11 - Liverpool vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 11th October 2026 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Liverpool
Andoni Iraola has maintained his unbeaten start to life as manager of Liverpool after guiding his new team to a win at his former team before the international break. The opening fixture list has been pretty kind to the manager and the players, but Liverpool will know that things get much tougher right out of the gate when returning from the first international break of the season.
They will begin this weekend in 6th place in the Premier League table and one of five clubs that have yet to taste a defeat, but Liverpool still have room for improvement. That is most notable at Anfield where The Reds have a 0-2-0 record having scored and conceded 2 goals.
Liverpool opened the season with draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, but have won 4 of the last 5 games in all competitions. The last Premier League game at Anfield ended in a goalless draw with Fulham, but Liverpool have beaten Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur in Cup games around that stalemate.
Both Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak returned from international duty with injuries and they are both doubtful, although Isak is expected to be closer to being available. Federico Chiesa should be available, but Jeremy Jacquet is another doubt.
Manchester City
Football fans will have been frustrated that the international break was going to be slightly extended, but those in England were given a new story to feast upon without the distraction of Premier League Football being played. The announcement that Manchester City had been found guilty of the majority of charges they had faced has created a real problem for the Premier League, especially with an appeal to be heard before sanctions can be applied.
It is not a great look for English Football as a whole that the team leading the 2026/27 Premier League table through five games may also be about to have serious penalties thrust upon them. Enzo Maresca will have had the squad returning from international duty with a few days to prepare for this next League fixture, but Manchester City's reputation has been damaged and the players are going to need show they have a thick skin to deal with the vocal criticism they are going to be facing from opposition supporters.
Manchester City have won all 7 games played in all competitions since capitulating in the Community Shield against defending Champions Arsenal. They have won all 3 away games played under Enzo Maresca and kept consecutive clean sheets, but Manchester City are about to enter a cauldron in their return to Premier League action this Sunday.
Phil Foden completes his suspension, while both Nico O'Reilly and Antoine Semenyo were sent back to Manchester with knocks picked up while representing their respective nations. Erling Haaland is another who asked to be substituted in Norway's last Nations League fixture and has to be considered a doubt unless news breaks in the Manchester City press conference scheduled for Friday.
Head to Head
Manchester City beat Liverpool in both Premier League games and also crushed them in the FA Cup Quarter Final at the Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool had been unbeaten in 4 at home against Manchester City before conceding two late goals in the 1-2 defeat in February.
Prediction
Out of all the fixtures that Manchester City's players could have asked for following the Premier League announcement that they had been found guilty of the majority of charges faced, a trip to Anfield has to be in the top two of least desired.
The atmosphere is going to be pretty lively right away and the match is very difficult to assess simply because we cannot say with any certainty as to how Manchester City will react.
There has to be some concern within the squad about what the future may hold for themselves, never mind the club, and that can wear down anyone.
Enzo Maresca looked pretty jovial heading into training, but he has to face the media and is going to be under pressure. His team have made a fine start to the season, but none of this may matter in a few weeks time and the manager is going to be feeling the strain.
Manchester City have regularly struggled for big results or performances at Anfield and this weekend feels that much more challenging.
Andoni Iraola will be trying to keep his Liverpool players focused on the field and to not get carried away by the atmosphere in which they are playing. He will be disappointed that key players like Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak have returned from international duty with knocks that could see them miss out, but Iraola will take confidence from the performances produced by his Liverpool team in the week before the international break.
The new manager is still trying to get his players to settle into the system and ideas he has, which has led to some inconsistent performances. The quality in the squad has helped produce some important results, even when Liverpool have not been at their very best, while Andoni Iraola has to be happier with some of the defensive numbers from recent fixtures.
Containing Manchester City will not be easy, even if the players are not completely focused, but Liverpool may also find it tough to break down this defence. The 5-3 win over Sunderland is an outlier, but before that, Manchester City had been producing decent enough defensive numbers with Enzo Maresca more cautious than his predecessor Pep Guardiola.
Everyone will be expecting goals, but 3 in a row at Anfield had finished with less than three goals shared out when Liverpool have hosted Manchester City. That run was snapped in February, but that game was still at 0-0 ticking into the final fifteen minutes and the under looks a big price on Sunday afternoon when Manchester City are expected to hear exactly how the rest of English Football feel about them.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
