Etihad Stadium: Great Appetizer!

(Baonghean.vn) - Commenting on the key match of round 4 of the Premier League taking place on September 9, commentator Tony Gale of Sky Sports said: "I watched the match between Man City andLiverpool"It's a great appetizer for a football-filled weekend."

The clash between Man City and Liverpool is highly anticipated, not only because they are part of the "Big Five" group, but also because these are 2 of the 5 English teams that are still unbeaten after the last 3 rounds. This will be the match for the "blockbuster transfers" to prove their worth to the new team and maybe also an opportunity for Coutinho's student to "make up" with "The Kop".

Liverpool will meet a team from the "Big Five" for the second consecutive time. Jurgen Klopp's "Red Brigade" just defeated a giant of English football, Arsenal, with a score of 4-0 in the previous round.

Professional corner

In the Premier League era, the two teams have met 40 times, with home team Man City winning 7, drawing 15 and losing 18. But it is worth noting that Man City have not beaten Liverpool in the Premier League since August 2014, when they beat Liverpool 3-1.

The Man City - Liverpool match is the focus of round 4 of the Premier League. Photo: Internet

Although a talented coach, Pep Guardiola has not won against Juergen Klopp since coming to England (1 draw and 1 loss). In the last 5 matches, the Red Devils Liv won 4, drew 1 - that signals that Man City will face many difficulties when facing the away team with 7 points after 3 matches.

The Citizens' attack was under a lot of pressure as their shot success rate was less than 10%. In the match against Bournemouth, who were rated much lower in the previous round, Man City had to rely on a somewhat lucky goal in the 90+7 minute by Sterling to be able to win all 3 points.

But in this match, Sterling received a suspension while coach Juergen Klopp confirmed that Brazilian player Philippe Coutinho is fit to play in the big match between Liverpool and Man City this weekend.

The upcoming “appetizer” at the Etihad Stadium of Man City is considered the second most expensive football party on the planet, the total value of the squad of both sides is up to nearly 1 billion pounds (936 million pounds). If we are not mistaken, the total value of the squad of the upcoming Man City - Liverpool match is only inferior to the “El Clasico” match between Real and Barca in the Spanish Super Cup recently.

The total value of the two Spanish giants' stars is more than 1 billion 305 million pounds (Real Madrid is 669.42 million pounds, and Barcelona is 635.85 million pounds).

While Liverpool had an impressive performance in the 4-0 victory over Arsenal in the previous round and new signing Salah - currently the most expensive player of the "Red Brigade" - shone brightly alongside Mane and Firmino, Pep's Man City stars have yet to show their full value.

Facing the attack line including Salah, Firmino, Mane in a 4-3-3 formation, coach Pep Guardiola will likely abandon the 3-4-3 formation to return to a 4-1-3-2 with Fernandinho playing the anchor midfielder position and the two stars Jesus and Aguero in the attack line.

Welcome with open arms

Last summer, the "Red Brigade of Merseyside" spent 406.35 million pounds to bring to Anfield 4 new contracts: left-back Andrew Robertson (8 million pounds), striker Dominic Solanke (3 million pounds), midfielder Mohamed Salah (38.42 million pounds) and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (35 million pounds).

But the most successful was the successful retention of Philippe Coutinho despite persistent interest from Barcelona. Liverpool's £138 million offer from the Nou Camp was rejected and even the Fenway Sports boss bluntly stated that Coutinho was not for sale.

Coach Klopp and Liverpool's board of directors have forgiven Coutinho. Photo: Internet

Previously, Coutinho suffered a back injury and his refusal to play for “The Kop” in the first 5 matches of the season (3 matches in the Premier League and 2 matches in the Champions League play-off round) made many Liverpool fans worry about his future.

But now, things are different, even after playing 2 matches with the "Selecao" against Ecuador and Colombia in the 15th and 16th matches of the South American World Cup qualifiers (scoring the winning goal in a 2-0 victory against Ecuador), Coutinho quickly took a private flight back to England to join Liverpool to prepare for the trip to Manchester.

Coach Klopp forgives and is ready to let the 25-year-old Brazilian star play in the upcoming big match against Man City. Let's wait for the earliest match at 6:30 p.m. on September 9 (Vietnam time) at Etihad Stadium between Man City and Liverpool.

Premier League Round 4 Schedule

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