Player Battles at the Etihad: Citizens v/s Kops

18 Yard Box has a look at the 3 key battles on the pitch which might turn the game around.

Its Super Sunday as Manchester City face Liverpool in an enthralling encounter at the Etihad Stadium. Both set of teams have their own good reasons to win this duel with Manchester City looking to close down the gap on the league leaders Manchester United and Liverpool trying to wrestle back into an Europa League qualification spot. With both teams boasting of quality talents, the match would be a feast to watch as both teams lock horns in the mid-day kickoff.

18 Yard Box analyses the epic player battles ahead of the mouth-watering encounter.

Vincent Kompany v/s Luis Suarez

It will be an intensely hard fought battle as Vincent Kompany looks to hold Luis Suarez at bay. Luis Suarez, with 17 goals this season, 1 shy of top scorer Robin van Persie, has this golden chance get to the top spot if he keeps up with his record and scores past Hart. With the introduction of Sturridge in the team, his combinational play with the ex-Chelsea striker has been phenomenal and his movements in the opposition half is sure to give Kompany problems. Kompany has been a rock in the heart of defence and his role in keeping Luis Suarez would be huge. Suarez who has a tendency to wiggle past defenders and beating them at will may find it hard against Kompany but having already scored against him in the previous fixture, Suarez is most likely going to be on top in this duel.

Sergio Aguero v/s Daniel Agger

Manchester City has a class finisher in the shape of Aguero and Liverpool’s talismanic defender, Daniel Agger should have to be on top of his game to keep Aguero from influencing the game. Aguero and Tevez, one of the lethal attacking combinations, might give Liverpool a headache but Agger, the backbone of Liverpool’s defence should perform well enough to restrict forward movements of Aguero. Aguero hasn’t hit prime form this season and coming back from injury. it will be tough for him to compete against one of the most hard-tackling defenders. Having already hit 8 goals this season, he would look to improve on his goal tally and Agger, on the other hand would be looking to keep a clean sheet to bolster confidence at the back. However, Aguero with all his skills and qualities might edge past Agger in this duel.

David Silva v/s Glen Johnson

David Silva, the midfield magician has a trick or two up his sleeve as he looks on to demolish Liverpool’s defence by his impressive dribbling and intricate passing. Glen Johnson, who is most likely to play on the left side of Liverpool’s defensive four, has a major job at hand trying to keep Silva from getting a foothold in the game. Silva, on any given day, may wreck havoc in opposition defence if he isn’t kept at bay and Glen Johnson has just to do that. Good going forward but poor while coming back and defending, Johnson needs to set up his game a notch if he is to prevent his team from losing to City. Mancini’s trump card David Silva holds the key to unlock Liverpool’s defence unless Glen Johnson steps in to prevent that. It all comes down to the match to see who wins the duel but on paper David Silva has an advantage over Glen Johnson whereas in the past matches Johnson has been the key to unlocking the City defence. Silva will have to take care of his defensive duties as well. All in all, based on quality, Silva might overpower Johnson in this one.

Written By,

Rishav Ghosh

Rishav is a writer for 18 Yard Box.

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