Manchester City v Liverpool: Premier League – live

49 min: Savinho wriggles, and Doku weaves. Both continue to be lively. Van Dijk steps into Marmoush’s shot.

48 min: It’s been quiet so far. Liverpool staying in defensive shape, Marmoush having the ball headed away by a towering Konate.

46 min: Can City come back? We’re in for a hell of a half if they do. They begin their Herculean task with a spell of passing. We are told the last time Liverpool lost a game they were 2-0 up was Bournemouth in 2016. I was there, one hell of a rewrite required.

It’s been a big day in the North.

The half-time emails:

Stephen McCrossan: “Salah is clearly brilliant (thought I’d display my searing football insight there) but surely Gvardiol should be doing a bit more against him for the second goal. That was just pathetic.”

Justin Kavanagh: “The decline of Kevin De Bruyne debate today is very interesting. I’ve no idea what makes him tick, as an individual, but what he said about Belgium before the last World Cup (that they were too old to win it) seemed to point to either a/ a complete realist or b/ a man not much given to raging against the dying of the light. Depends which way you look at it, I suppose.”

Zach Neeley: “Salah’s also closing in on the goals+assists record. Alan Shearer had 47 in a season (and that was 42 matches) Salah is on 41 now. Good bet to have most goal involvements in league history and on an expiring contract…”

Ben Wilkinson: “It’s almost like City don’t realise Haaland isn’t on the field. They keep putting crosses into the box, but there’s no one there to meet them.”

Joe Pearson: “I may be mistaken, but it felt like KDB passed more to Liverpool players than his City teammates.”

Peter Oh: “Is Noel Gallagher in the house? It must be so hard for him to watch City Slide Away. He’ll be doing the Poznan of disgust if this keeps up.”

Half-time: Manchester City 0-2 Liverpool

45 min: Doku out right now – why not? – and wins another corner. There’s no way through at the moment. De Bruyne attempts to get involved but is brushed aside. He’s had a painful half, full of effort, so lacking in the old magic. Two minutes were added on to the half.

43 min: De Bruyne whips in a cross; that’s cleared with ease. City just not able to find the angles that can trouble Liverpool.

42 min: Everywhere City turn, there’s a red shirt waiting.

40 min: City trying to rescue something. Konate celebrates as he concedes a corner…Robertson heads that away but chooses not to celebrate.

38 min: Oh dear, City. That flush is busting. Marmoush rather theatrically wins a free-kick but the ball is cleared. De Bruyne – again – didn’t step up to take it.

Goal! Manchester City 0-2 Liverpool (Szoboszlai, 37)

36 min: Liverpool retaining possession. Slot-ball in action, reminiscent of the 1980s, sans backpass. The City fans are getting through much booing.

34 min: Here come Liverpool. Diaz out to Salah, reverse pass to Trent, and Ake clears in desperation. Mac Allister takes the corner. Konate can’t get to it.

33 min: The City fans booing, the suspicion being that Mac Allister is breaking up their momentum. He looks genuinely groggy.

31 min: MacAllister got trampled on as Marmoush piled through. Concussion? Both managers up and issuing instructions. Curtis Jones getting plenty from Arne.

City have the ball in the net but offside!

30 min: Savinho fouled by Szoboszlai, free-kick that De Bruyne doesn’t fancy taking. Foden goes for glory, rather pointlessly. It’s City’s decision-making that is different.

28 min: Doku is the outlet again but Liverpool are overloading him. Getting men across to him. Twice, his crosses are blocked. He’s also a little hesitant to hit the byline.

26 min: Salah, with power and vision, almost sends away Diaz. As Gary Neville says on the Sky broadcast, he is better than ever. Untouchable this season, nobody even close.

24 min: Gene Salorio: “Watching DeBruyne reminds me, sadly, of Modric in the 4-0 semi-final drubbing City handed Real Madrid in 2023. Great player but clearly not at the level needed against that opponent, still good enough to play a role at the top but not as a central element of the team.”

Modric scored a fine goal today. But, the point stands. KDB may not see the second half at this rate.

23 min: A rare move down the left and Diaz just overdoes it. City clear hurriedly. Nunez and Jota are sat on the bench, Darwin chewing and looking a bit sulky.

22 min: Salah, seemingly annoyed by Doku’s dancing, runs back to concede a corner. That’s poor from Marmoush as Alexander-Arnold clears. Eventually, off the left, Marmoush has a shot. No problem for Alisson.

21 min: Doku on a gallop, past Alexander-Arnold, and then attempting a pass inwards to Foden. That overload attempted again and again. City appear to lack sophistication. Has Pep been spending too much time with Neil Warnock?

19 min: Chris gets in touch: “If one had to summarize the decline of Kevin de Bruyne’s play in one moment, you could do worse than showing a replay of that attempted pass to a wide open Doku that went to TAA instead shortly before the goal.”

He’s always been a player of percentages and risks. Now it’s a risk playing him. Sad, because at his best there have been few to compare.

17 min: Now, can City respond? The wounded animal or the busted flush? Arne Slot is watching replays of the goal. Well-worked, to say the least.

16 min: City can’t say they weren’t warned. Salah is the best in the business and they allowed themselves to lose possession and then let him go at a corner. That’s poor.

15 min: It came off Ake but that was quick-thinking by Szoboszlai, who smashes over to Salah. You know the rest. His 30th of the season, the talisman strikes.

Goal! Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool (Salah, 15)

12 min: Gvardiol’s intercepts an Alexander-Arnold pass but within seconds the ball is with Liverpool and Salah attempts his sidewinder run, past Ake before hitting heavy traffic. Next, Szoboszlai, after Liverpool press the ball out, sends Diaz to the byline.

11 min: Arne Slot has spotted something. He’s doing that hand-jive thing first made popular by Glenn Hoddle and John Gorman. “Go in to go left, Nigel,” that kind of thing.

10 min: Andy Robertson seems to shove Rico Lewis. Pep himself can be heard complaining about that one. Neither team yet to dictate play. Few nerves, and perhaps some adjusting to do, too.

8 min: Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “The C beside De Breune’s name could be a mis-print and should be a G, to indicate he’s a ginger. Or is it pre-empting his departure from the game Crocked ? Or possibly “Citizen-til-I-die”, in order to distinguish himself from the rest of the Etihad rabble who are clearly only there for the dosh ? Now that Kyle’s gone…”

Foden drops out and finds space to shoot. Alisson claims but there will be no man-to-man manly battle as with Haaland for Virgil van Dijk.

7 min: Gravenberch is being swarmed over, another popular recent tactic. De Bruyne’s involved in the midfield battle, perhaps trying to show the engine is still running.

5 min: First run for Doku, with Marmoush inside him. The plan appears to be isolating Trent Alexander-Arnold. Does Trent get a complex? Seems every team targets him. Meanwhile, Liverpool do just fine.

4 min: Diaz raids from the left wing, plenty of flexibility in both attacks. Neither has opted for an out-and-out striker.

3 min: Having flapped at the first corner, Alisson claims the second in the style we have become accustomed to.

2 min: An early slip from Gvardiol leads to Salah’s first shot. It’s blocked, and then City go down the other end and force a couple of corners.

Away we go in Manchester

The teams are just about ready. Blue Moon is ringing out at the Eti, and Pep has a sly smile on his face.

Arne Slot’s on Arsenal’s slip, per Sky: “It’s clear it’s impossible not to notice it. You receive text messages and things like this. I wasn’t watching the game myself but of course you get to hear it. My main focus was City. They have had a difficult spell because of injuries, but the squad is bigger and the new players have had an impact already.”

The last time Liverpool won at the Etihad. I was there, and it took a while to come to fruition but the template was set for Klopp’s Liverpool.

The teams’ last meeting.

Pep Guardiola spoke to Sky on that Haaland absence: ““Yesterday after training he didn’t feel good. During these nine years we played many seasons without really important players and we survived. This season, we have had a lot of injuries and we could not survive, but in specific games we have to do it.”

Pep does a lot of harking back these days. Protecting his legacy?

Elsewhere…

Clive Darwell spots a City revival: “I notice that if City win today and Liverpool lose to Newcastle on Wed City would basically be 8 points behind if they won their game in hand. Now they’ve got a runner in midfield and they can recharge batteries without Champions League, and Arsenal are…..Arsenal I’m surprised no one’s talking about them winning – Liverpool could easily get spooked. There’s something very weird about this season.”

Paul Shields gets in touch: “John, looking forward to your minute by minute report in the Guardian for the Liverpool game. That 4-3 result NUFC vs Forrest reminded me of the Roman offerings to their gods. I’ve no idea what I’m on about but there’s something in the air “For those who are about to die we salute you”, or something like that. Ironically, I’ve just got back from a wedding anniversary in Rome. I just hope the omens are good…”

Joe Pearson: “It would be funny if Carragher had the stones to accuse Haaland of Van Dijk-itis. He won’t though, will he?”

Jose asks: ‘What does the (C) mean next to De Bruyne?”

Captain.

Chris in Corfu gets in touch: “It’s just like in years gone bye. City will be two down in 15 minutes and all of sudden l will be back at Maine Road watching peak Cityitis.”

Graeme Neill gets in touch: “Obviously The Narrative suggests that between Arne’s comments the other night and the fact he’s on the bench, Nunez will come on when the game is delicately poised and score the first of the 15 goals he’ll boot in between now and the end of the season. But let’s face it, he’s going to shank the ball into Old Trafford when the goal is gaping in the 94th minute, isn’t he?”

If not Salah, then who is going to score for Liverpool?

Jonathan Wilson has run his rule over the two rivals, both with big – if different – questions to answer.

All eyes on Marmoush and Salah in Egypt.

Only two attackers for Liverpool in Salah and Diaz? NO DARWIN? No Jota, who was responsible for a couple of misses at Villa Park too. Both are on the bench.

Ilkay Gundogan and the injured John Stones are out, Gundo benched, Stones on the long-term list. Surprise recall for Kevin De Bruyne as Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku come in.

Odd, considering these comments:

“But maybe for the demands, the way we now need to play because of the absences or strengths that we have and physicality and many things, we need a game of more control and not up and down. Don’t tell me why. It’s not personal, I decide the decisions, that’s all, no more than that…”

Jamie Carragher looked a bit twitchy when he and Micah Richards were bantering earlier. His socials suggest his comments were taken out of context. Pep was fuming. All fuel to the fire.

Haaland’s knee problem looked nasty last week – but City have been tight-lipped.

The teams – No Haaland

Preamble