- Liverpool host Manchester City in a Champions League quarter-final first leg
- Ahead of the clash at Anfield, DOMINIC KING rates each player based on form
- Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah both get 9.5/10 but City are ahead overall
- Liverpool’s superb attacking trio edges City’s but the Reds are inferior elsewhere
As Liverpool and Manchester City prepare to do battle in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night, Sportsmail’s DOMINIC KING rates each member of the two likely line-ups based on their current form…
Loris Karius 7
Out to haunt the club who wrote him off when he was 16. Improving after a difficult start but does not inspire confidence. Must step up.
Trent Alexander-Arnold 8
Grew up a mile from Melwood, dreaming of nights like this. A 19-year-old of significant promise but does this test come too soon?
Ederson 8.5
A fortune was invested in him last summer but he has brought a massive improvement to City’s team. Has some faults but generally excellent.
Kyle Walker 8.5
Biggest compliment is that nobody mentions his £50million transfer fee any more. Having an outstanding season and he has clearly improved.
In mega-money summer signing Ederson, 24, Manchester City have an excellent goalkeeper
Liverpool’s current No 1 keeper, Loris Karius, is less convincing and doesn’t inspire confidence
Vincent Kompany 9
When he is fit, there is no better central defender in the Premier League. The emblem of this club, he has provided a decade of magnificent service.
Nicolas Otamendi 8
No longer looks like an accident waiting to happen. Says everything that his improvement is keeping John Stones out of the team.
Aymeric Laporte 7
How centre back copes playing in an unfamiliar position, with Salah darting at him, will be one of the key factors in this game’s outcome.
Dejan Lovren 7
He can look majestic, or he can short circuit and lose concentration. Other times. He needs a big performance to quell the doubters.
Virgil Van Dijk 8
Always leaves the impression he finds things so easy. The £75m man has improved the defence but another step forward is required.
Andrew Robertson 8
The Premier League’s most in-form left back. A revelation since winning his place back in December. He is clearly relishing this challenge.
When fit, there is no better centre back in the Premier League than City’s Vincent Kompany
Dejan Lovren will start for Liverpool and he needs a big performance to silence the doubters
Gini Wijnaldum 7
Not a headline grabber but he is the ultimate Klopp player: follows orders and provides security, filling in to let others move forward.
Jordan Henderson 7.5
The current captain will never satisfy those who yearn for Steven Gerrard. But he never goes missing and Klopp thinks the world of him.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 7.5
Scored and was man of the match when the sides met in January. Klopp likes picking players with previous form against an opponent.
Kevin De Bruyne 9.5
All class. A joy to watch him play those instinctive first-time passes and the Belgian playmaker would improve any team in Europe.
Fernandinho 8.5
The Brazilian is the glue who holds it together. The way Klopp lavished praise on him is indicative of the defensive midfielder’s importance.
David Silva 9
You could never walk away from a game of football disappointed if you have seen the Spaniard in action. A player for the ages.
Kevin De Bruyne is world class and the Belgian will hope to pull the strings from City’s midfield
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was brilliant when these sides met in the Premier League in January
Mohamed Salah 9.5
The most unexpected icon in Liverpool’s modern history. Nobody envisaged such a majestic season but 37 goals have put him in the pantheon.
Roberto Firmino 9
Dangerous to underestimate his importance. If this hyperactive forward, who has 23 goals, plays well, Liverpool do too.
Sadio Mane 8.5
Many will say he’s had a poor season and point to his red card at the Etihad Stadium in September. Don’t listen to them. His form is excellent.
LIVERPOOL AVERAGE 7.9
Raheem Sterling 9
Liverpool were so angry at his 2015 move because they knew the kind of star he could become. Getting better and better under Pep.
Gabriel Jesus 7.5
He has had moments of genius and moments of agony. The question is whether he can provide Sergio Aguero’s assassin’s touch.
Leroy Sane 8.5
Klopp would have loved to have signed him but was powerless to stop his move to City. He knew Pep had landed a potential world-beater.
CITY AVERAGE 8.5
Salah’s stunning debut season has yielded 37 goals so far and one suspects he’s not done yet
Raheem Sterling has improved a lot since leaving Liverpool for City in the summer of 2015
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