Anfield can be one of the most menacing away environments in the Premier League for any team to come to, but this weekend the roof may blow off the stadium as Manchester City come to town. With City having been found to have breached Premier League financial rules by an independent commission, everyone around the league has weighed in with opinions about what should happen. City are appealing the decision. The breaches cover 2009-10 to 2017-18, a span in which Liverpool finished as Premier League runners-up in 2013-14.
That season, Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool were only two points behind Manuel Pellegrini's City, with both teams scoring a whopping 100-plus goals in league play. Anfield never forgets, and the atmosphere could echo 2018, when Liverpool faced Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals. Not only was the stadium a wall of red, but so was the approach to it, which Guardiola admitted had an impact on his players. Even if this were a normal match, an undefeated City side would face a hostile atmosphere with Liverpool looking to get back into the top four.
How to watch Liverpool vs. Manchester City, odds
Date: Sunday, Oct. 11 | Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
Location: Anfield -- Liverpool, England
TV: NBC | Live stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)
Odds: Liverpool +170; Draw +260; Manchester City +145
Anfield also hasn't seen Premier League soccer in almost a month due to scheduling and a lengthy three-week combined international break. The last home game was a drab draw with Fulham, far enough in the past that fans are ready to see the Reds again, and more than ready to respond to the City decision.
1. Can City withstand the pressure?
Immense pressure is on Enzo Maresca and the City squad coming into the match to show that the off-field issues are kept there, and the City boss has already called on his away support in a club interview.
"We need to be all together. I said many times the reason why this organisation in the last 15 years was top was because from the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the manager, players, fans, they are all on the same page. And this is fantastic," Maresca said.
He added that his squad will be ready, but that he needs the fans as well while reiterating that he's calm about the off-field issues. It's one thing to say that, but it's another to back it up while in a hostile atmosphere. Social media has been rife with people's thoughts about City, and while players can ignore that, they won't be able to ignore the fans cheering and jeering from the Kop for 90-plus minutes.
It's a time when the players can come together in support of the club, but with thoughts of what comes next in their heads, a slip-up here could easily become the first step of a spiral. It's hard to predict which way things will go, but that's exactly why it's such an immense match, especially with Champions League soccer around the corner, with Paris Saint-Germain coming to town on Wednesday. City can't ask for a much tougher return from the international break than what they're about to get.
How will the Liverpool fans react?
It will be relentless pressure from the moment City arrive in Liverpool until the moment that they leave. City were already a team that Premier League sides weren't fond of, as success can put a target on your back, but now that even the methods of said success are in question, everyone is out for blood. There may not be a worse place for City to go than Anfield. Even against Manchester United, the economic concerns for Manchester if City were kicked out of the Premier League would loom over the match. The Red Devils may not like their noisy neighbors, but when it comes to Manchester as a whole, things are better when both clubs are successful and competing for league honors.
There's no such buy-in at Liverpool, a club with deep working-class roots. Money being funneled in from the United Arab Emirates is the exact opposite of what the Anfield faithful stand for, which only adds to the animosity that will be at the stadium. How City respond will be critical, as losing here could start an internal spiral, and that's just what the Reds will hope for. Although with punishment looming, it's an open question as to whether City's wins and losses will even matter should massive point deductions, or even expulsion get handed down.
Home fixtures at Anfield are already massive affairs, but with the fervor of soccer's return combined with the occasion, this one will be something for the ages.
What does the traveling support do?
Former City manager Pep Guardiola will be at the Etihad for the Champions League during the week to show his support for his old club and City's continued claim of innocence, but that doesn't mean that the traveling support to Anfield will be just as united. Maresca has asked the fans for their support, but will they be unanimous in that? It's common for fans to voice their displeasure with ownership, but it's also tough to gauge just where City fans are on the charges.
While many fans are maintaining City's innocence, just as current ownership is, public proclamations don't always mirror real life, and if City's away support isn't backing the team, this will be an even longer game than if the players can draw on their away support amid the sea of red that most certainly won't be in their corner. City's owners likely face the possible option of selling the club, depending on what penalties are issued and whether they lose the backing of their most loyal fans is likely to play a roll in that decision.
This is also a litmus test for what City can face on their return home, which could be a rocky one. So much that is not yet known will become clearer on Sunday.
