The first week of the Premier League proved to be full of adrenaline as usual, with most of the big name teams winning their respective matches. Liverpool managed to defeat Southampton with a score of 2-1. Meanwhile, the reigning 2013-2014 Premier League Champions, Manchester City, defeated Newcastle United 2-0. Heading into the second week of Premier League football, some teams will look to get ahead in the race for the title (although still early, of course), and others will seek to catch up.
Liverpool and Manchester City will be facing off this Monday, August 25, at 12:00 P.M. (PST) at the Etihad Stadium. Liverpool ended up in second place during the 2013-2014 Premier League season behind Manchester City. It was a very close race last season, but this time, Liverpool will surely be hungering for the win to avoid any potential risks in the future. We can expect an intense match this Monday, with a lot of emotion and exciting action.
Liverpool Team News
The Liverpool vs Southampton game proved to be a good showing from both squads, with many counterattacks. The loss of Suarez was visible when Liverpool attacked from inside the box, but overall, it was not a major difference. Raheem Sterling was constantly moving the chains and looking for ways to create plays that could break through Southampton’s defense. In the end, he ended up scoring from a remarkable assist from Jordan Henderson and also provided an assist for Daniel Sturridge. With a relatively young squad, Liverpool still have a ways to go to fully develop.
With the departure of Suarez, Liverpool will now be seeing the arrival of Mario Balotelli. Liverpool are reportedly paying £16m for him and some are questioning if it is a good deal for the club. With Balotelli having problems in the past, like Suarez, Liverpool are certainly taking a risk on the Italian.
Manchester City Team News
In recent weeks, several Manchester City players have renewed their contracts with the club. Edin Dzeko, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri have all renewed their contracts with the club, showing that the club is more interested in keeping the players they currently have, rather than acquiring new ones. The club’s dedication to its current squad is important because it provides more chemistry among the players and they could still continue to have success there.
In regards to their latest match against Newcastle United, the team fared fairly well. However, the final match score does not accurately reflect the intensity of the game. Throughout the match, Newcastle united were constantly pressuring City’s defense and finding ways to get through it. In the end, it was not enough, since they were not able to effectively finish their plays. The patience of Manchester City was apparent as they managed to score two goals that firmly secured their victory. In the upcoming game against Liverpool, we can expect Manchester City to play in a similar style that shows security and patience.
Prediction
So far, the second week of Premier League action has been just as exciting as the first week. Arsenal managed to snatch a point off of Everton in the dying minutes of the match. The fixture between Liverpool and Manchester City will hopefully be as exciting or even more. We can expect an intense match that will end up with a final score of 2-2. Both teams are desperate for the win in this game and although Manchester City are the defending champions, Liverpool will not be giving up a point in this match easily.
TV Schedule
The Liverpool vs Manchester City match will be televised on Sky Sports 1 (UK), and NBC Sports Network at 12:00 P.M. (PST).
