3 key battles which will decide Manchester City vs Liverpool

With the biggest game of the Premier League season coming up this weekend, Manchester City vs Liverpool (watch live, 11:30am ET on Sunday on USA Network and online via NBCSports.com) will be full of intriguing battles.

But which three battles will decide the outcome of this clash between the two title contenders?

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With City just one point above Liverpool atop the Premier League table heading into this game, we now how tight this 90 minutes at the Etihad Stadium will be.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are geniuses and they will likely conjure up something a little different to try and get an edge.

Below we focus on three key battles we believe we determine the outcome of this mammoth Manchester City vs Liverpool clash.

This is going to be epic. Joao Cancelo has been sensational at left back for Man City this season, not only defensively but also with his marauding runs and supreme quality in the final third. His battle with Mohamed Salah down that flank will be appointment viewing and the Cancelo will be pushed to his limits defensively and his attacking output may be limited. He will also have to worry about Trent Alexander-Arnold pushing forward. That said, Cancelo likes to drift inside and create overload situations for Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne to feed off, so Salah will also have to be switched on defensively throughout. With Salah going through a little bit of a tough spell in front of goal, perhaps Cancelo has the edge going into this game. That said, remember what Salah did to Cancelo and Man City at Anfield earlier this season. Like I said, it’s going to be epic.

It is likely that Kevin de Bruyne either starts in central midfield as one of three, or he starts