Anfield on Edge: City Chase an 89-Year Hoodoo While Liverpool Hope to Break the Spell
8 February 2026
Match Context
Manchester City travel to Liverpool for a high-stakes Premier League clash as City attempt to break a long-running hoodoo against the Reds.
Liverpool host City at Anfield on Sunday in Matchweek 25, a game that promises more than the usual drama.
City sit second with 47 points, chasing the gap to leaders Arsenal on 56, while Liverpool are sixth with 39, four behind Chelsea in fifth.
BBC figures show Liverpool have lost only one of their last 22 home meetings with City in the Premier League, recording 14 wins and seven draws.
Yet the only defeat in that run came in February 2021, a 1-4 loss when Liverpool arrived as defending champions.
Head-to-Head and Trends
The game also carries weight: City beat Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad in November, and City chase the first league double over Liverpool since 1936-37, a run that would stretch to 89 years.
Liverpool hope to end that trend, while City will be wary of a stubborn crowd and a rival hungry for a statement.
A victory for City would complete the rare Premier League double over their Merseyside foes, a feat they last achieved in 1936-37.
City's challenge is to keep possession and punish Liverpool on the break, while Liverpool aim to exploit Anfield's atmosphere and City's occasional lapses.
The teams last met when City ran out 3-0 winners at the Etihad in November, but Liverpool will hope a home banner can shift momentum.
Punchline 1: City chasing an hoodoo older than most fan diets—89 years is not a small snack, even for a trophy cabinet.
Punchline 2: If Liverpool win, Klopp will call it “another chapter in the saga”; if City win, the hoodoo will need a therapist and a longer script.
