Steve McManaman picks his combined Liverpool and Man City XI as 'sensational' player misses out
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The weekend’s marquee FA Cup quarter-final clash sees old rivals Liverpool and Manchester City going head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium.Neither side is in top form this term, with Arne Slot’s men not even in the top four and the Sky Blues likely to miss out on the Premier League title.But despite Liverpool’s decline and the fact Man City have beaten them twice already this term, Steve McManaman has only named four of Pep Guardiola’s players in his combined XI, snubbing Ibrahima Konate, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike and Alisson. Give me your SCORE PREDICTIONS for Saturday’s Man City clash 🔮 Who will book a place in the semi-final at Wembley?
Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images Ibrahima Konate misses out on Man City vs Liverpool combined XIThe former Liverpool man was asked to pick between 22 players in a quick-fire interview with TNT Sports.Despite an upturn in form, Konate missed out on the side when put up against Ruben Dias.Ekitike has been called ‘sensational’ amid rumours of interest from Real Madrid, but he still couldn’t make the cut ahead of Erling Haaland.Frimpong, who was injured this week on international duty, was snubbed in favour of Matheus Nunes, while Gianluigi Donnarumma was selected over Alisson between the sticks.McManaman’s full picks are as follows:Donnarumma over AlissonNunes over FrimpongDias over KonateVan Dijk over GuehiRobertson over Kerkez and Ait-NouriGravenberch over RodriMac Allister over O’RileySzoboszlai over SilvaWirtz over CherkiSalah over SemenyoHaaland over EkitikeHow close Liverpool came to signing Rayan CherkiPerhaps the most interesting debate for Liverpool and City fans from the above picks is who is better out of Florian Wirtz and Rayan Cherki.Wirtz had a slow start following his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen, and now has six goals and nine assists in 40 matches across all competitions for the Reds.Meanwhile, a report emerged in February 2026 that Cherki was a ‘back-up plan’ for Liverpool in the summer should a move for the German not have come off.The Frenchman instead moved to the Etihad Stadium from Lyon and now has nine goals and 10 assists in 41 matches for City.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox