Having wrenched the title from Manchester City's grasp last season, Liverpool will now hope their latest visit to the Etihad can prove the worth of victory over their Premier League rivals in the transfer market this summer. Both clubs were chasing the signature of Florian Wirtz until Reds boss Arne Slot persuaded the 22-year-old attacking midfielder to make a £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield.

The rewards, though, have been slow to materialise with Wirtz taking time to adapt to a much-changed team, prompting former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to this week claim the Germany international's arrival had "destroyed" Liverpool's title-winning midfield.

But despite starting the former Leverkusen hero on the left wing in Tuesday's impressive Champions League win over Real Madrid, Slot is in no doubt the player will eventually succeed in his preferred midfield role.