Paul Merson believes two Liverpool defenders will find it difficult when Manchester City visit Anfield on Sunday.
The Premier League champions make the trip to Merseyside with the chance to move 16 points clear of the Reds, albeit having played a game more than Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Reds earned a much needed three points in the Champions League when they thrashed Rangers on Wednesday night but Merson has tipped the Sky Blues to earn a 3-1 victory at the weekend.
“Joe Gomez was all over the place at full-back against Arsenal as well, and can’t see anything but a struggle against Foden and Grealish this weekend,” he told Sportskeeda.
“Erling Haaland will be up against Virgil van Dijk this weekend, and I think the latter will find it a little difficult against the Premier League’s leading goalscorer. This will be an interesting challenge for both players.
“Liverpool have been so spoiled by brilliance over the years that a couple of players being out of form has caused mayhem. Yesterday’s [Wednesday’s 7-1 defeat of Rangers] result will make a difference for Liverpool, and Mohamed Salah will be a completely different player this weekend.
“Do I see Liverpool winning? No. They’re still letting in too many goals. Manchester City have got Haaland and will still win a lot of games this season. I don’t see how Liverpool are going to stop them from scoring at least two goals this weekend.”
Bobby Firmino is in red-hot form at the moment, Mo Salah netted a hat-trick from the bench and Diogo Jota also made a huge impact as a substitute at Ibrox so the hope is that Klopp’s men will carry Wednesday’s result into the clash with City.
The Citizens will pose a much more serious threat compared to the Glasgow-based outfit, however, and keeping Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland quiet will not be easy.
The criticism of Joe Gomez is rather harsh, we feel.
Our No. 2 came on for Trent Alexander-Arnold at the Emirates and ended the game solidly and then registered a sublime assist for Firmino against Rangers.
He’s naturally a central defender but his strength and pace means that he can certainly do a job at right-back.
Ibrahima Konate was quality as well against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side and if he can strike up a partnership with Virgil van Dijk then it won’t be long until we find ourselves further up the Premier League table.