Manchester City

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Are Manchester City out of the title race following their defeat by Liverpool on Sunday?

"It has been done before but in their current form it would take something really special to turn it around," said former City defender Michael Brown on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Pep Guardiola went over to the supporters at the end of the game to say sorry and he put his hands up to say six Premier League titles. To me that looked like an apology to say: 'I have done that for you but this one is too far.'"

Nigel Reo-Coker added: "It would have to turn into one of the greatest-ever comeback title races in history for City to now win the league this season.

"I understand that you don't write Guardiola off, or the players because of who they are, but when you dissect it there are problems. Defensively they are the worst I have ever seen them and in the midfield it is evident just how important Rodri is.

"They are struggling in midfield regardless of what combination they put in there of top players. It is just not working.

"There are too many problems to say they are still in the title race."

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Mark Chapman presents highlights and analysis from Sunday's four Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle

• West Ham 2-5 Arsenal

• Man Utd 4-0 Everton

• Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa

• Liverpool 2-0 Man City

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Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has been speaking to Sky Sports about the away defeat: "It's obviously not the easiest period but we are made for this. It was a difficult game today, it was always going to be in our best moments and has been since I've been here. Even in our best moments, this has always been a tough place to come, and even more now in our circumstances.

"I am seeing through it and I saw a lot of character today, and that is something that gives me a good feeling for what is ahead. Winning is all about that.

"We have a lot of winners in our dressing room. In times like this, it is all about mentality and keeping on going, pushing and thinking one game at a time.

"Nottingham Forest is all that is on our mind and we want to win - that is how you break it. Today I saw little things that will help us move forward.

"This is just part of our legacy. We have won so much and still we are where we are and this happens. It is more about building and building the legacy. These tough moments will never stop coming in football. Football is the perfect example of life, sometimes life seems easy but it slaps you in the face and football is the perfect example of that.

"That is why we win again and again. We have been able to be versatile, adapt and keep on moving forward and thinking one game at a time. That is what we need to get back to. This is all about our legacy, building that and believing in it.

"We will see where we are at the end of the season. Now is just Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest."

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been speaking to Sky Sports following the defeat: "The first 15 to 20 minutes, they were unstoppable. They started so strong. We tried to play with a lot of control and passes, but it was difficult to take it.

"They deserved the first goal, but we started the first-half so well and played well in the second-half without too much threat. I know how strong Liverpool are in both boxes.

"I congratulate them and we will reset and start from zero. It is difficult to believe it. I rely a lot on these players, I know they are doing in this position. We will see what happens by the end of the season.

"We can always do the short passes, but we don't have many alternatives.

"All I can say is thank you to them because I know the commitment that they showed with and without the ball. Maybe I had a feeling inside me that we will build from them. We will restart and try to make a good run. There is a moment where maybe it will click.

"Today Kevin [De Bruyne] played good minutes, Jack [Grealish] played well in that position and Jeremy [Doku] played good minutes after a month out. Bernardo [Silva] and Rico [Lewis] have a lot of minutes in their legs. Nathan [Ake] was exceptional against maybe one of the great wingers.

"I congratulate Liverpool, they deserve the victory. We accept the situation right now and we will build from that."

Guardiola added: "We didn't have a pre-season and then [we got] injuries, but we know that and we have to survive with that

"We competed [today] but didn't create many chances. We don't have the pace in the middle right now, they are stronger in the duels and you have to survive with the ball. We are not good in transitions over 30 to 40 metres, compared to them.

"We had to adapt, and we did it. I cannot forget which players I have.

"I am sitting here as a manager and defending what we have done in the past, thanks to them, and more than ever I want to be with them and hug them.

"We have to change results and, in the right time, we will take the decision.

"All the stadiums want to sack me, it started at Brighton! Maybe they are right with the results we have been having. I didn't expect that at Anfield. They didn't do it at 1-0 but at 2-0. Maybe they should have sung it in the past.

"I didn't expect it from the people of Liverpool, but it's fine. It's part of the game and I understand completely. We have had incredible battles together. I have a respect for them."

On whether he believes there will be new Premier League champions this year: "I said before this game that we weren't in a position to think about targets, but the season is long.

"We have to think about making results and then some players will come back and then we will be better and we will believe, maybe.

"There are many things to fight for and we are going to try."

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Manchester City have lost four consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since August 2008. Meanwhile, this is the first time in Pep Guardiola's managerial career that he has lost four consecutive league matches.

Guardiola has won just six of his 23 games against Liverpool across all competitions (D8 L9). Of all of the opponents he has faced more than five times in his managerial career, the Reds are the side he has won the lowest percentage of his games against (26%).

Meanwhile, Manchester City's first shot attempt at Anfield came in the 39th minute, which is their longest wait for their first shot in a Premier League match since April 2010 against Arsenal (58th minute).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Liverpool's performance, external

What did you make of Manchester City's display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

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It is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar as Premier League and Championship clubs join the FA Cup action from round three.

The draw will take place on Monday, 2 December from 19:00 GMT and can be watched live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Four matches make up Sunday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

• Chelsea v Aston Villa (listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra)

• Man Utd v Everton (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

• Tottenham v Fulham

• Liverpool v Man City - 16:00 (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

Kick-offs 13:30 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 13, he takes on boxer Sunny Edwards who is a Chelsea fan.

Sutton's prediction: 4-1

I was at Anfield on Wednesday for BBC Radio 5 Live. Liverpool had a brilliant night, beating Real Madrid in the manner which they did, but there was a bit of bad news for their manager Arne Slot before the end.

Conor Bradley was sensational but he came off late on with what looked like a hamstring injury and then, in stoppage time, Ibrahima Konate fell awkwardly too.

Ideally I would wait to see if those two are fit before deciding what will happen here, but I am so far ahead of everyone else with my predictions that it's probably fairer I make a call now.

From Manchester City's point of view, Erling Haaland didn't have his shooting boots on against Tottenham last weekend, but he did have some chances. The worrying thing was what happened when he didn't take them, because City capitulated.

Pep Guardiola is stressed and the players look edgy and short of confidence, but let's put it into context because this is one bad month after many years of total dominance. What Pep has achieved and done for the Premier League has been phenomenal.

You look through their team and it makes me want to stick to my mantra from the past few weeks, which is that City will respond and remind us how good they are.

While Trent Alexander-Arnold could come back in for Bradley, it is the injury to Konate that gives City a glimmer of hope, because he and Virgil van Dijk have formed such a good partnership under Arne Slot.

I still think the intensity Liverpool played with against Real Madrid will be too much for City, and I'm expecting Slot's side to repeat that. Their midfield looks so strong and Curtis Jones really impressed me against Real.

It has been a good week for Liverpool and a good season so far, but a win to send them 11 points clear of the defending champions would make it a great week and a great campaign - and that's what I'm going for.

They might not just beat City, they might take them apart like Tottenham did.

Sunny's prediction: 2-2

For a long time it just seemed unfair how good Manchester City were, but not anymore.

They need a big performance here. Liverpool seem to be grinding out the results but I actually think this game might be quite even.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has barely put a foot wrong since taking over from Jurgen Klopp in the summer, while things seem to be going from bad to worse for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. With three vital points on the line, it will be an intriguing battle at Anfield on Sunday.

While the two sides go head to head on the pitch, we asked our fan writers for each club to go head to head off it.

Each got to ask three questions of the other. Liverpool fan Josh Sexton from The Anfield Wrap, external was asked the following by our Man City supporter

1. How surprised are you by Slot's start at Liverpool?

2. Are you feeling nervous about the contract situations surrounding Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk?

3. Are you confident Liverpool can beat City and Arsenal to the title?

City fan contributor Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany, external was given the following questions:

1. What do you think is going wrong at Manchester City?

2. Is this the least confident you have felt coming to Anfield in the Pep Guardiola era?

3. What have you made of Arne Slot and his start to life at Liverpool?

Liverpool and Manchester City go into Sunday's Premier League fixture at Anfield with the Reds eight points clear at the top of the table and City on a six-match winless run in all competitions.

We have taken a look at some of the statistics behind their contrasting fortunes...

It is not the volume of chances that is the main issue for Manchester City defensively, but the quality of them. City concede by far the highest quality of chance in Europe's top five leagues.

Only two teams are giving up fewer chances than City's eight per game on average - German Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Getafe, who are 15th in Spain's La Liga.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have four more points compared to their first 12 games of last season. The level of their play has not changed dramatically - it is just a bit more defensive-minded.

They have faced 37 fewer shots, but taken 35 fewer.

Defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League would leave Manchester City 11 points behind Arne Slot's league leaders - but would that gap be insurmountable?

Former goalkeeper David James - who played for both clubs - tells The Football News Show why he thinks Pep Guardiola's side would not be able to recover from another loss, while ex-City midfielder Michael Brown feels you should never write the Blues off.

Watch The Football News Show on iPlayer

Alex Keble
Football tactics writer

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Manchester City travel to Liverpool on Sunday with the usual narrative flipped on its head. This time it is the reigning champions who must find a way through the league's best defence.

But there is a route to victory for Guardiola, providing he embraces the end-to-end wildness into which this fixture so often descends.

Six of the eight Premier League goals Liverpool have conceded this season were scored in transition - just after the ball has been turned over. Five of those eight goals were created by running directly at, or past, the Reds' full-backs.

That should be City's target.

Guardiola should field his fastest ball-carrying wingers and encourage quick distribution into their feet when possession turns over.

Jeremy Doku and Savinho, if hit early, can cause damage running at Liverpool's right-back (whomever it is) and left-back Andrew Robertson - undone already this season by Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kaoru Mitoma, Tyler Dibling and Bukayo Saka.

There is an even better way to expose this vulnerability; slot Kevin de Bruyne into the right-half space, the column of the pitch that runs between opposition left-back and centre-back.

As he comes back to fitness, De Bruyne is just the kind of player needed to take advantage of space behind Liverpool's left winger, which is precisely what he did the last time Man City beat the Reds.

In the above graphic from the 4-1 victory in April 2023, City's number 17 De Bruyne lurked out right and combined with Riyad Mahrez to punishing effect. His pass map below also illustrates a greater concentration of contributions from that side of the pitch.

Better still for City, Liverpool have conceded three goals from through balls played in behind by a central midfielder. Something De Bruyne could do for Erling Haaland.

There is a path to a City win, but only if Guardiola breaks tradition and goes all-in on a transitional game, something Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has begun to pull back on from predecessor Jurgen Klopp's all-action style.