There are discussions on potential starting XIs, formations and secret weapons, as both sides look to make an early statement for their title credentials.
Admittedly, it’s safe to say the Blues’ record against the Mersesysiders leaves a lot to be desired and Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News has analysed how he feels Pep Guardiola’s men can end their rotten run against the Reds.
He writes: “Liverpool are rapidly turning into Manchester City’s new bogey team… and unless Pep Guardiola gets his tactics spot on, their horrendous run against the Scousers will go on.
“The Blues have not won a Premier League game against the red half of Merseyside in their last five attempts, drawing one and losing four.
“That run was only interrupted by the 2016 League Cup final triumph – and even that came in a penalty shoot-out after the 120 minutes of normal action ended in stalemate.
“Trips to Anfield have long been troublesome for City – it remains the only top-flight stadium at which City have not won since the 2008 takeover that revolutionised the club.
“But last season’s draw, courtesy of Sergio Aguero’s equaliser, and the shock 4-1 thrashing that the Blues took the season before, mean that City have not beaten Liverpool at home since Stevan Jovetic’s double featured in a 3-1 win over three years ago.
“Liverpool present real problems for City, and you wonder how much their first-half devastation of Hoffenheim in the Champions League play-off last month has affected Guardiola’s thinking.
“The German outfit went to Anfield trailing 2-1 from the first leg, and made the mistake of playing three at the back.
“That left them wide open to the speed of Liverpool’s wide attackers Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, racing into the wide open spaces between the defenders and the wing backs.
“The Scousers were 3-0 up before the reeling Hoffenheim boss could react, and ended up breezing to a 4-2 win.
“Maybe that is why Guardiola ditched the 3-5-2 system with which he started the season, reverting to a more circumspect 4-1-4-1 at Bournemouth, with Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker having to be more disciplined in their defending.
“No doubt that was aimed at exploiting the Cherries’ weaknesses, but Guardiola will also have been thinking about the Liverpool game as well.
“The expected return of Philippe Coutinho to the Liverpool ranks adds an extra dimension of menace – and Fernandinho could be a crucial man for the Blues.
“Liverpool’s front three press high up the pitch, and that should leave the Brazilian with time and space in which to operate.
“If the City defenders can beat the press, the Blues could turn Jurgen Klopp’s tactics against him and unleash the creative genius of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
“It is a fascinating match-up between two ultra-bright managers – and City badly need a positive result against a top six team!”
In other news, we know Gabriel Jesus is certainly not short of admirers – he seems to receive high praise from a different and very well-respected source each week!
Today, it’s the turn of Brazilian World Cup winner Juliano Belletti, who claims the City star could become ‘one of the world’s best’.
Quoted in an article by the Mirror, the former Barcelona man raves: “We have the World Cup and after that maybe it is possible he can become one of the best in the world.
“Definitely in the next year.
“It [Jesus’s start at City] was a good surprise for me because when you arrive in the middle of the season, there is a lot of pressure and expectation and he’s young but his personality and his confidence was amazing.
“It’s all about confidence. The confidence you need in Brazil is not the same confidence in England.
“You need to arrive, feel comfortable and be able to play your football.
“So when he arrived here, from the first minutes he took the ball, he showed confidence and that’s very important.
“It’s about adaptation. It’s not the same football – maybe more physical; it’s faster.
“You must not bring Brazil with you. You need to think as an English player, but always with confidence to play your football.
“I don’t know [who to compare him to]. Gabriel has his own quality – he’s a different kind of player.
“He’s very intelligent; he has a lot of personality, as Ronaldo and Romario had, but I don’t see him like them. He’s different.”
Elsewhere, another of City’s Brazilians also receives acclaim, as ESPN’s Simon Curtis examines the importance of the 24-year-old in the Blues’ title challenge.
He scribes: “Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were each convinced that a good goalkeeper --- Peter Shilton, Peter Schmeichel and David Seaman on their respective title-winning sides at Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Arsenal -- could save their sides between 10 and 15 points a season.
“As Manchester City prepare to face Liverpool this weekend, the long history of goalkeepers -- good and bad -- that has wrapped itself around these two clubs might make this old saying even more poignant.
“In City’s case, the big question is have they finally found the man in Ederson Moraes who can do for them exactly what Schmeichel, Seaman and Shilton did for their clubs and be a deciding factor in the Premier League title returning to the Etihad for a third time in seven years?
“After opening matches with little to do at Brighton and at home to Everton, Ederson found himself in the thick of a truly crazy game at Bournemouth, which required maximum concentration and huge agility to help his side to the most hard-earned three points.
“Having proved his worth for Benfica in 2016 against Guardiola’s Bayern Munich squad in the Champions League, Ederson simply has to keep doing what he did in those two closely fought quarterfinal matches: race from his goal, pass accurately and confidently to feet and launch searing counter-attacks with incredibly accurate drop kicks to the wings.
“If he can do all of this at City, those 15 extra points -- exactly the margin City finished behind champions Chelsea last year -- might just make all the difference for his new club.”
