Manchester City and Liverpool are going head to head for the first time in Europe, yet they have met before on 178 occasions in English football. Liverpool have won 87 of those matches to Manchester City’s 45, with 46 draws.
While Liverpool have plenty of experience against fellow English clubs in Europe, this is their first European Cup quarter-final in nine years – and just City’s second ever. This is the 17th time English clubs have been paired together in UEFA competition, and while City have been involved in just one of those previous ties, this is the tenth domestic affair for Liverpool in the European arena, including five of the nine UEFA Champions League knockout contests. There have only been three wins by Premier League clubs in the last 17 knockout phase home matches over the past four seasons
In this season’s Premier League, Manchester City were 5-0 winners in Manchester on 9 September. Sergio Agüero gave the home side a 24th-minute advantage and, after Sadio Mané received a red card, more strikes from Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sané double accomplished an ultimately comfortable win. Liverpool turned the tables on City at Anfield on 14 January, making it the first defeat of the Premier League season on Pep Guardiola’s side with a 4-3 victory. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain helped Liverpool get an early lead and, though Sané levelled shortly before half-time, three goals in ten second-half minutes from Roberto Firmino, Mané and Mohamed Salah put Liverpool 4-1 up.