A Tale of Two Acts: Liverpool and Manchester City

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY — There is a reason why Liverpool and Manchester City are quite far behind the top of the English Premier League standings. They have been unable to perform consistently throughout 90 minutes. While Liverpool started the match very slowly in the first half, City often experienced a sudden and drastic drop in performance after halftime.

The atmosphere of rivalry feels somewhat different ahead of the duel at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, on Sunday (8/2/2026) at 23:30 WIB. Liverpool and City, the champions of the league in the last eight seasons, are competing to remain relevant for the remainder of the season. Liverpool needs three points to enter the top four zone, while City is striving to close the gap with league leaders Arsenal.

The two teams are facing off against each other. City is not at the top of the standings at the moment due to a contrasting story from the two halves. According to data from Opta Analyst, the team managed by manager Pep Guardiola should be leading the standings if all matches had been stopped after the first half. Their record in the first 45 minutes is 16 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses.

However, due to a decline in performance following their last match, City has already lost seven points. They have only collected 47 points (14 wins, 5 draws, 5 losses) from a potential 54 points. This issue was clearly evident in City's last match last week. They were already leading 2-0 at the home of Tottenham Hotspur, but could only return with a draw.

It would certainly not be wise for City to repeat a similar trend in a daunting stadium like Anfield. "Anfield is not an easy place to visit. We must show resilience and a spirit of togetherness. It is about doing our duty, how to focus entirely on achieving victory," said City defender Marc Guehi.

Liverpool is not lacking in terms of inconsistency. The difference is that the team coached by Arne Slot often encounters problems in the first half. They frequently complicate matters by falling behind early. In the match against Bournemouth at the end of January, for instance, they conceded two goals before ultimately losing 2-3.

Liverpool, if calculated based solely on the results of the first half, would only occupy the 10th position (8 wins, 8 draws, and 8 losses). Fortunately, Mohamed Salah and his teammates were able to perform better after the break, thus gaining an additional seven points to reach a total of 39 points (11 wins, 6 draws, 7 losses).

In their first meeting at the Etihad Stadium in November 2025, Liverpool suffered a three-goal defeat to City, also due to lapses in the first half. "The Reds" were trailing 0-2 at halftime due to goals from Erling Haaland and Nico Gonzalez, and then further sank in the second half.

For Liverpool, falling behind early is no longer a trivial matter as it was last season. They cannot turn the situation around at any moment due to an attacking line that has yet to function optimally. This is evidenced by their average productivity this season, which stands at only 1.62 goals. This is significantly lower than their record when they won the league last season (2.26 goals).

Therefore, if they want to secure full points, Liverpool must ensure that they do not give any breathing room to the visiting team from the kickoff. After conceding first in the league this season, Liverpool has only managed to win once out of ten opportunities. In contrast, they remain unbeaten when they are able to take the lead first (10 wins, 2 draws).

Slot stated that City can certainly punish them with the quality of their capable squad. "They are a very good team. They won against Newcastle last Wednesday, a team that we also defeated last weekend. The difference is that they won without using their key players. That tells you how great their strength is," he said.

City and Liverpool happen to be experiencing a poor trend in the league. They have only won once in their last six league matches. However, the momentum is more in favor of the home team. They managed to win 4-1 against Newcastle at Anfield in their last league match.

Guardiola himself is not overly concerned about his team's inconsistency. "Are we at the top level? Not yet. We are continuously improving; we just need more consistency, and then we will get there. So, with 14 matches remaining in the league, there is still a long time. In my experience, anything can still happen," he said.

The upcoming match will feature two players from each side who are on fire, namely Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) and Omar Marmoush (City). Both had difficulty finding their best performance in the first half of the season, but have started to shine recently, particularly Wirtz, who is the second most expensive player in the Premier League.

Wirtz has already scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists across all competitions since the turn of the year. This number surpasses his contributions during the first half of the season (1 goal, 3 assists). Meanwhile, Marmoush has netted three goals since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, including two goals against Newcastle last week. (AP/REUTERS)