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Man City vs Liverpool LIVE: Carabao Cup result and score as City win thriller to reach quarter-finals
Man City 3-2 Liverpool: Erling Haaland and Mo Salah both scored but it was City who edged into the last eight
Manchester City narrowly beat Liverpool 3-2 in a Carabao Cup round of 16 thriller, as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s teams played their first competitive fixture since the World Cup.
City’s four-year grip on the Carabao Cup trophy came to an end last season when Liverpool won the competition for the first time in a decade but they got revenge as Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Ake all scored for the hosts at the Etihad.
Liverpool had twice hit back after going a goal behind, with Fabio Carvalho and then Mohamed Salah equalising for the visitors, but Ake’s 58th-minute header from Kevin De Bruyne’s incredible cross made the lead stick.
City go into the quarter-final draw later this season alongside the likes of Manchester United, Leicester and Newcastle and will surely now be favourites to go all the way.
Relive all the action with our live blog below:
A Liverpool milestone
Liverpool are aiming to record their 150th victory in the history of the League Cup when they visit Manchester City this evening.
The current holders of the trophy can reach the milestone with a win in the Carabao Cup fourth-round clash at the Etihad Stadium against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Pep Guardiola will not tone down touchline reactions in emotional moments
Pep Guardiola claims he cannot be expected to act like a statue on the touchline against Liverpool.
The Manchester City manager recognises the importance of behaving responsibly in light of the two clubs’ attempts to defuse tensions in their growing rivalry.
Ahead of Thursday’s Carabao Cup clash at the Etihad Stadium, senior figures at both of the north-west powerhouses have made a joint plea to supporters to guard against unacceptable behaviour.
This comes after Liverpool’s win over City at Anfield in October was overshadowed by a number of unsavoury incidents both on and off the field.
Pep Guardiola will not tone down touchline reactions in emotional moments
Fears for players’ physical and mental health after World Cup
The packed schedule around the World Cup will add to pressure on players’ physical and mental health, according to global union Fifpro.
Manchester City return to Premier League action next week with 16 of their players having played a combined 5,180 minutes and covered 486 kilometres in Qatar, the PA news agency’s player burnout study showed.
Arsenal will have to resume their title bid without striker Gabriel Jesus, who was injured in Brazil’s final group game against Cameroon. That followed pre-tournament injuries that ruled out the likes of Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and Bayern Munich’s ex-Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, and Fifpro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann insists proper rest periods are desperately needed.
While not referring to specific players, Baer-Hoffmann told PA: “You have a scientifically-proven correlation between the kind of overload the players are going through and the risk of injuries and we have – especially amongst those elite players – a seemingly-high prevalence of certain injuries that are common when the body is not properly recovered.
Fears for players’ physical and mental health after World Cup
What time is the Carabao Cup quarter-final draw tonight?
The Carabao Cup fourth round takes place this week as domestic football returns following the World Cup, with a host of top clubs in action.
The standout tie is Manchester City - who beat Chelsea in the third round - hosting Liverpool as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp meet in the League Cup for the very first time.
Despite the lack of game time in recent weeks, it was the Premier League sides who all advanced to the quarter-finals on Tuesday night. Wolves defeated Gillingham, Southampton came from behind to beat Lincoln, and Leicester cruised to victory at MK Dons. In the all-Premier League clash, Newcastle defeated Bournemouth to book their place in the next round.
Manchester United returned to action on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory over Championship leaders Burnley, Nottingham Forest thrashed Blackburn, and League 1 Charlton caused a huge upset as they knocked out Brighton on penalties.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the draw:
Man City vs Liverpool prediction
Assuming there’s all the football quality but none of the desperation which goes with having to not lose these encounters in league play, it could be a very topsy-turvy, eventful fixture.
Man City 3-2 Liverpool.
Man City vs Liverpool predicted line-ups
Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, S Gomez, Gundogan, Palmer, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish
Liverpool XI: Kelleher, Milner, Matip, J Gomez, Robertson, Elliott, Bajcetic, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain
What is the early team news?
It remains to be seen how many World Cup players for both sides feature, but those who exited at the group stage will have had time off already and could certainly be involved.
That means Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan for City, for example, and Darwin Nunez for the Reds.
The latter will be without the still-injured Diogo Jota, while Luis Diaz is also out after needing surgery following his own attempted comeback. Curtis Jones is a doubt but Joel Matip returned to fitness during the mid-winter break.
Erling Haaland and Mo Salah are expected to feature at some point but Julian Alvarez is on leave following his World Cup win with Argentina.
How to watch Man City vs Liverpool
Tonight’s Carabao Cup match kicks off at 8pm GMT on Thursday 22 December 2022.
Man City vs Liverpool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Ultra HD. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
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Manchester City vs Liverpool
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the final fixture in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup as Manchester City host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Seven of the eight teams to reach the quarter-final stage are already known with one of either City or Liverpool joining League One’s Charlton Athletic and the Premier League’s Leicester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Wolves in the next round.
Kick off for this one will be at 8pm and both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will use the game as an opportunity to raise the fitness levels of the players who didn’t feature in the World Cup.
That means, the likes of Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah could get a run out this evening ahead of the Premier League’s return on Boxing Day.
We’ll bring you all the team news, build-up and live action from the Etihad Stadium as Man City face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
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