Early team news: Mo Salah absent from line-up ahead of Liverpool against Manchester City

Manchester City travel to Merseyside this weekend for a mammoth Premier League encounter against title rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The reigning champions of England come into to the contest buoyed by a run of 19 games unbeaten across all competitions, stretching back to mid-December and featuring a FIFA Club World Cup victory in Saudi Arabia.

Their latest extension of that run saw them secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, dismissing of FC Copenhagen in another 3-1 victory this time at the Etihad Stadium.

Goals from Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez, and Erling Haaland would send Manchester City into the last-eight of Europe’s premier club competition with an aggregate scoreline of 6-2, with the draw for the next stage of the competition due in the next few days.

Pep Guardiola has had to contend with the absence of two names from first-team training this week, with Jack Grealish being granted an extended period of time away from the squad to fully recover from a reoccurring groin problem.

Jeremy Doku was also absent from the meeting at the Etihad Stadium in midweek, while Matheus Nunes was withdrawn in the second-half through a gruesome finger injury – but was involved in recovery as normal the following day.

Ahead of official confirmation of team news from Anfield on Sunday afternoon, sources on social media channels have began revealing elements of Pep Guardiola’s selection, with the first details provided by FplToni.

According to the information of X user FplToni, Mohamed Salah does not start for Liverpool against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, while previous images have confirmed that Ibrahima Konate is not fit for the contest.

On the Manchester City front, it has been confirmed that Jeremy Doku is part of the travelling squad that arrived at Anfield, overcoming the ‘niggles’ that forced an absence against Copenhagen in midweek.

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are expected to confirm their respective Liverpool and Manchester City starting line-ups from 14:45 (UK).

Now confirmed.