Manchester City v Liverpool preview: 5 key matchups in the Premier League clash
By David Gate
David Silva v Emre Can
Liverpool would dearly love to have club captain Jordan Henderson available for this game. All the reports are he won’t make it after ruling himself out of international duty next week. In his place Emre Can will be tasked with anchoring down the defensive responsibilities of Liverpool’s midfield.
On paper this looks like two clearly mismatched players. Can is strong, direct and dominate in the air. David Silva is clever and wily and full of creativity. If Silva is given space to work it will be a long afternoon for the Reds. For this reason I wonder if Klopp will ask Gini Wijnaldum to take on chief responsibility for picking up the Spaniard and allow Can to have a more physical match up with Yaya Toure.
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David Silva will look for this matchup all game. He will be drifting side to side hoping to pull Can out of position to allow Aguero and Toure some space to operate centrally.
Emre Can has made some steady improvements in his game and Klopp is beginning to trust him more. He is going to have to be alert for 90+ minutes on Sunday. He needs to have a top class performance against a Premier League star like Silva to convince the fans that he has a long-term future at the club and he is deserving of the rumored contract that would double his money.