Tactical Preview: Manchester City vs. Liverpool

In beginning my research for this game, I looked back at the electric clash between Manchester City and Liverpool in the fall of 2021. And what was it that made that game so special?

Mohamed Salah’s wondergoal certainly didn’t hurt the game’s notoriety, but it was each team’s willingness to take chances and create shots with no fear. There have been some incredibly special games between these two sides in recent years, with 5 wins for each team and 4 draws in the 14 meetings in the Klopp/Pep era.

An unbelievably tight rivalry featuring two of the best premier league teams ever assembled. This year, however, these teams have gone above in beyond in their dominance, aggressive style of play, and willingness to take chances and play exciting, beautiful football.

In the data, we can see that City and Liverpool are significantly outperforming in shots on target (SOT)/90. Liverpool is creating 6.43 SOT a game with City managing 6.37 which are both significantly higher than the league average of 4.138.