By Mihail Vladimirov.

Rodgers made two changes to his team following the game against WBA last week, both of which could be thought of as surprising. Coates, not Carragher, replaced the banned Agger, while Sterling replaced Downing to play on the left with Borini shifting to the right.

On the City side, Mancini made numerous changes, probably to accommodate his choice of a different formation. Against Southompton on the opening day, City played with 4-2-2-2 while at Anfield they opted for 3-4-1-2. In defence Clichy and Lescott made way for Kolarov and Kolo Toure – the first to play as left wing-back, the second to play as the third central defender. In midfield De Jong replaced Rodwell, while Silva was relegated to the bench (reportedly due to his poor performance in the previous match), replaced by Milner. Up front Balotelli replaced the injured Aguero.

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