'Beautiful' - Man City fans' delight as Erling Haaland returns to starting XI vs Liverpool FC and Nunez benched

Erling Haaland has returned to the Manchester CIty starting XI for their visit to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden starting alongside the league's top goal scorer.

City also have had to shift their defence around, with Manuel Akanji looking like starting at right-back as Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake playing centrally. It is a strong midfield, with the regular trio of Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan being called upon for their experience in the tricky atmosphere of Anfield

Jack Grealish misses out a start but is fit for the bench, and Liverpool have also made a big call with record signing Darwin Nunez dropped to the bench after scoring in midweek. They also have to contend with the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, with former City man James Milner starting at right-back this afternoon.

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It is a crucial fixture, with a win for City meaning that Liverpool would have little chance of challenging them for the Premier League title as they did last season. The Reds only have two wins to their name, however, Pep Guardiola insists that Klopp's side are still City's main title rivals.

For this reason, he has picked a strong side for this afternoon's fixture as Haaland returns to the starting XI having missed the Champions League draw in midweek against Copenhagen with complaints of fatigue. Guardiola also has to contend with the absence of England trio Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips and John Stones.

Here is some of the reaction to today's lineups:

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