Haaland starts for Manchester City as Liverpool hand Luis Koumas surprise role

Erling Haaland leads the Manchester City attack against Liverpool in the sixth round of the Premier League, while the hosts have made a surprise selection decision by naming young striker Luis Koumas in their starting XI.

The match takes place at Anfield on Sunday, with Manchester City seeking to maintain their perfect start to the campaign and Liverpool aiming to improve their position in the table.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has selected Koumas as the central striker after injuries ruled out Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo. Dominik Szoboszlai is also absent from the matchday squad altogether.

Liverpool’s starting line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Alisson

Defenders: Araujo, Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez

Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz

Forwards: Munoz, Bradley Barcola, Luis Koumas

Haaland leads Manchester City’s attack, with Enzo Fernandez and Rayan Cherki operating behind him in the Premier League’s sixth-round fixture.

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has named the following starting XI:

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma

Defenders: Nunez, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, O’Reilly

Midfielders: Anderson, Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki

Forwards: Antoine Semenyo, Ndiaye, Erling Haaland

Manchester City have collected 15 points from their opening five matches, giving them a perfect record and placing them at the top of the Premier League table.

Liverpool, by contrast, begin the game in eighth place with nine points. The fixture therefore offers City the opportunity to extend their winning run, while Liverpool will look to close the gap on the leading positions with a result at Anfield.