How Man City should line up vs Liverpool FC in Premier League fixture

Just as they did following the last international break, Manchester City will face their great rivals Liverpool in their return to action on Saturday.

City defeated Liverpool 3-2 in that thrilling Carabao Cup encounter following the World Cup and will be aiming to claim another win to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal. The Blues are currently eight points behind the Gunners, though they have a game in hand, so anything less than three points could prove disastrous.

Things have not been made easy for Pep Guardiola, either, as he will be without two key players for the match. Phil Foden is definitely unavailable after undergoing surgery at the weekend to remove his appendix while Erling Haaland is a major doubt with a groin injury.

ALSO READ: Pep Guardiola willing to risk Erling Haaland fitness with late Man City vs Liverpool FC selection call

Guardiola didn't rule out the striker completely ahead of Friday afternoon's training session but he hasn't trained all week ahead of the early Saturday kick-off. If he is unavailable, it leaves City depleted in attacking areas with Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez the only forwards available.

MEN Sport writers have laid out how they think City should line up for the match and you can add your own team in the widget below.

Pep Guardiola says he will take a risk on Erling Haaland's fitness if he can, but for me it's not the right course of action. City can cope without him, even against Liverpool, and Haaland is needed for the Champions League and Arsenal games later this month. Julian Alvarez is more than capable of coming in and leading the line.

With Phil Foden out, the rest of the front three picks itself, and the only attacking decision is whether