Manchester City\u2019s injury concerns appear to be easing just in time for Liverpool\u2019s visit to the Etihad, with Pep Guardiola declaring that he now has his \u201cweapons\u201d back \u2013 a clear message that the Reds will need to be at their very best to respond.<\/p>\n
Guardiola confident ahead of Liverpool clash
\nSpeaking to mancity.com before Sunday\u2019s showdown, Guardiola said:<\/p>\n
You see the bench now \u2014 we have weapons to change systems and dynamics. The players off the bench can make a huge impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
The City boss, who led his team to a third-place finish last season, believes the return of key players has restored the squad\u2019s strength in depth after a tough injury period.<\/p>\n
Last season that couldn\u2019t happen and it was the main reason [we struggled],\u201d he admitted. \u201cNow we have strength in depth. Everyone can make a huge impact at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a statement that sets the tone for what promises to be another intense Premier League meeting between two of the division\u2019s fiercest rivals.<\/p>\n
City will still be without Mateo Kovacic, who has been ruled out until March 2026 with an ankle injury, according to premierleagueinjuries.com. Guardiola confirmed the Croatian \u201cwill be out for a while,\u201d though his loss is balanced by several key returns.<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s turn to respond
\nFor Arne Slot\u2019s side, this fixture offers a major test of progress since the summer rebuild. The manager confirmed that Alexander Isak is back in full training, though he cautioned fans not to expect him to be \u201cat his best immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slot also revealed that Alisson Becker and Jeremie Frimpong are expected to return after the international break, adding much-needed stability at the back.<\/p>\n
According to Opta\u2019s supercomputer, City hold a 45.4% chance of winning compared to Liverpool\u2019s 27.7%, but such stats rarely capture the unpredictability when these two giants meet.<\/p>\n
Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, is just one goal or assist away from breaking Wayne Rooney\u2019s record for most goal involvements at a single club \u2014 and he has a strong track record against City.<\/p>\n
City may believe their \u201cweapons\u201d are ready, but Liverpool have been quietly sharpening theirs over the past two matches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manchester City\u2019s injury concerns appear to be easing just in time for Liverpool\u2019s visit to the Etihad, with Pep Guardiola declaring that he now has his \u201cweapons\u201d back \u2013 a clear message that the Reds will need to be at their very best to respond. Guardiola confident ahead of Liverpool clash Speaking to mancity.com before …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":53961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/EOTK-FeaturedHero-Image-Templates-13-768x432.jpg-1.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53962,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53960\/revisions\/53962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}