45+2 min: Bernardo Silva has been the best player on the pitch by a distance.

45 min: Two minutes added on. Manchester City have certainly had the better of the half, registering 10 shots. Liverpool have not faced more than that in any first half this season.

44 min: Liverpool claim for a penalty! From the resulting free-kick, Ekitike meets the cross, nodding back across goal. At the back post, Salah flails and falls to the ground, with Bernardo Silva looking a little guilty. Replays show that the Portuguese briefly had a hold of Salah’s shirt, but there wasn’t enough in it for a foul.

43 min: Yellow card for Marmoush, who is penalised for flattening Gravenberch on a Liverpool counter-attack.

42 min: Sloppy from Liverpool! Gravenberch gives the ball away on the edge of his own box but Marmoush can’t capitalise, pinging a shot high and wide.

40 min: A crucial covering tackle from Szoboszlai gets Liverpool out of jail. Semenyo and Marmoush combined in midfield and nearly released Haaland but the stand-in Liverpool right back slid in to clear the danger.

38 min: Fury in both the stands and the Liverpool dugout as Marmoush earns a cheap free-kick from Konate. It was soft, but probably not that different to the challenge that Konate attempted inside the Liverpool box earlier in the half (that was not given).

36 min: “Agree with Andy that Jota has been a big lose to Liverpool, but I think that lose is physiological more than anything”, emails Tony Ratcliffe. “On the pitch I think Luis Díaz, and dare I say it, Trent Alexander-Arnold are greater losses.”

34 min: A speculative shot from Haaland nearly catches Alisson cold at the near post! Rodri’s cross was a deep one and Haaland beat Szoboszlai to the ball at the back post, but couldn’t quite swivel enough to get enough power.

32 min: Sensational one-on-one defending from Guehi to deny Ekitike. The Frenchman raced through on goal with only the City defender for company but couldn’t shake Guéhi, despite feinting, wriggling and chopping left and right. It was a fine pass from Wirtz to send Ekitike on his way, by the way. Those two are certainly combining nicely.

30 min: “I fell down a fun rabbit hole with Anfield’s status as the only place where Erling Haaland has played Premier League football but never scored in that competition,” emails Eric Peterson. “Haaland does have an Anfield goal on his CV, from his Champions League visit in October 2019 with Salzburg. Easy poacher’s goal, two yards in front of an empty net after Virgil Van Dijk and Curtis Jones let a cross go between them and keeper Adrian (the more things change). But the Liverpool brass apparently liked the cross so much that in the following winter transfer window they signed the guy who delivered it, Takumi Minamino. It took the board a little longer to come around on someone else in the Salzburg lineup that day - they didn’t sign Dominik Szoboszlai until 2023.”

28 min: Donnarumma comes flapping for a cross, and unconvingly palms it straight to Salah. It’s an awkward ball and Salah is at an acute angle, but the Egyptian is once again wasteful as he lobs a hopeful shot straight over the bar.

26 min: Chance for Liverpool! Mac Allister fizzes in a fine line-breaking pass to Salah’s feet. The veteran has space to turn and shoot, but a loose touch allows Guéhi to nip in and make a challenge. It was only a half-chance but Salah is lacking that killer instinct at the moment. Last season, he would have likely killed that ball instantly and got a clean shot off.

24 min: More City pressure! Bernardo Silva wriggles out of three or four tackles and delivers a peach of a low cross across Liverpool goal. It is just beyond Haaland but the ball is recycled to Semenyo, who shoots fiercely from the edge of the box, only to see his shot is blocked by former Bournemouth teammate Kerkez. Good defending.

22 min: Another City opening as Ait Nouri gets to the Liverpool byline. He cuts a ball back to Haaland, but it arrives slightly behind the Norwegian. Rather than shoot himself, Haaland lays the ball off to Marmoush, but his shot is wayward from a promising position. Liverpool are living dangerously.

20 min: Twenty minutes gone, and Jota’s name and song is belted out around Anfield. Gone but not forgotten.

18 min: This is definitely City’s game so far. They are peppering Liverpool’s box with crosses and the home side are lucky to escape after something of a goalmouth scramble.

16 min: Marmoush goes down in the Liverpool box after tussling with Konaté, and appeals for a penalty … not given. Konaté was physical but didn’t foul the City man.

14 min: I think because Semenyo and Marmoush are playing very narrow, in from the flanks, Liverpool are struggling to pick them up. Neither Szoboszlai nor Kerkez want to follow them into the centre of the pitch, while Gravenberch and Mac Allister are already preoccupied with Silva, Rodri, and O’Reilly.

12 min: City look very dangerous. A few times, Semenyo and Haaland have been given the space to turn and run at the Liverpool backline. Haaland plays a through ball to Marmoush, but the Egyptian is ruled offside. It’s a very high line from Liverpool’s defence, which is not clever when they are also affording plenty of room in front of them.

11 min: I have been increasingly impressed with Kerkez this season. The Hungarian started his Liverpool career poorly, but now seems to have found his feet.

9 min: Liverpool have conceded 16 set piece goals this season and give City a chance to load the box with a free-kick. Silva curls a cross in and Khusanov rises highest, but plants his header over the bar. The 21-year-old might have been better leaving it, with Guéhi possibly better placed behind.

7 min: This has been a frantic, brilliant opening. Both teams are tearing forward: counter attack upon counter attack upon counter attack.

5 min: Slot spoke about the importance of Liverpool pressing and Ekitike picks Khusanov’s pocket on the City byline before squaring a very dangerous cutback towards the penalty spot. Wirtz was lurking but Silva did well to clear the danger for City.

3 min: I should mention that Kerkez did well to get back and put Haaland under pressure. It was a scrappy attempt on goal, and Liverpool’s left back made it awkward for the City striker.

1 min: A first touch for Guéhi, who is instantly booed by the home crowd, presumably for having the temerity of choosing to play for another football club.

“Being a Welsh Liverpool fan, this has not been a vintage weekend so far,” emails Matt Dony. “I’m hoping Liverpool can cheer me up today. The reverse fixture was chastening, but I’m sure there’ll be an improvement today. Whether it’s enough of an improvement? Eh, I’m not confident. I’d take a scrappy draw right now.”

Here come the teams.

Liverpool kept City waiting in the tunnel. Donnarumma and Ekitike embraced, former PSG teammates of course.

Bernando Silva is City’s captain today and he leads out the visitors, with Erling Haaland bringing up the rear.

This is a good read.

Arne Slot, Liverpool manager, is next to speak to Sky Sports. He reiterates that the biggest recent improvement that his side have made is their work rate out of possession.

We have made a lot of steps forward mainly off the ball, mainly with players better able to play this schedule we are playing. The biggest improvement I see is players are more ready for the combination of the Premier League and Champions League at the intensity we need.

We have both shown we are good in ball possession and can create chances. Both teams want the ball as much as possible and both have shown from a high press they are a threat as well. A good and proper counter attack can be dangerous at both ends as well.

Wirtz has improved massively with his work rate off the ball which is so vital in the Premier League. You need to be very good in every department.

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, speaks to Sky Sports:

As always, we will be ourselves. Here and always, we have to be ourselves and the personality has to be shown. To ignite the fire everyone has to do it. These two clubs in the last eight years - we have been dominating the competition.

“Does it make me a bad fan/person that I really wanted Mo [Salah] to be on the bench?” asks Ian Copesake. “I haven’t forgiven him for his blow up but I preferred it when we were solid without him.”

Nope, it doesn’t.

Here is Jonathan Wilson’s big preview of today’s game.

We’re into the final minutes here: Palace lead Brighton 1-0. Join Daniel Harris for the latest.

An email from Andy Flintoff: “One big difference between last year’s champions and this year’s Liverpool team that you’ve elided is the unfortunate loss of Diogo Jota, which has obviously affected the club both tactically and mentally. They haven’t really replaced that sort of player who could always find space whether coming in from the flanks or from deep.”

This is spot on. It’s impossible to quantify just how big an impact Jota’s death must have had on the players and staff.

Two very strong XIs, and no real surprises. But look at the difference in quality and experience between the two benches.

Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Endo, Chiesa, Jones, Robertson, Nyoni, Ramsay, Ngumoha.

Manchester City: Trafford, Dias, Reijnders, Ake, Cherki, Gonzalez, Foden, Alleyne, Lewis.