The 2026 FA Cup quarterfinals get off to an early start on Saturday as Manchester City hosts Liverpool at Etihad Stadium, starting at 7:45 a.m. ET live on ESPN.
Man City is looking to reach the FA Cup semifinals for the eighth consecutive season. Liverpool has lost three of their last seven matches, with just two victories; the Reds get a tough matchup in Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday.
Man City has already defeated Liverpool twice this campaign, and City is favored again in Saturday's FA Cup match, with a 1.69x payout ($100 to earn $169) on PrizePicks Team Picks.
Let's break down our Man City vs. Liverpool prediction and picks for Saturday morning’s FA Cup quarterfinal match. You can make your FA Cup picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money if you’re right — including on game winners, both teams to score, totals and more!
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Man City vs. Liverpool Prediction, Preview for FA Cup Quarterfinal – 4/4/26
Sitting at fifth in the Premier League with a 14-7-10 record, Liverpool’s season has been an abject failure after winning the EPL last year.
However, winning an FA Cup for the first time since 2022 — when they defeated 3-2 on the road to the trophy — could relieve some of the pressure on manager Arne Slot.
City comes into this match at a disadvantage, as manager Pep Guardiola is suspended for yellow-card accumulation; assistant manager Pep Lijnders will take charge.
Both managers face difficult lineup selections, especially on defense. CB Josko Gvardiol will miss out due to injury, while CB John Stones and CB Ruben Dias will be match-time decisions for Man City.
The Reds are also without GK Alisson long-term, as well as RB Conor Bradley, while RB Jeremie Frimpong suffered a knock on international duty and is a doubt.
That’s not great news for a defense that has allowed nearly 7.0 expected goals and 8 actual goals more on the road than at Anfield this season.
On offense, Liverpool FW Mo Salah will be available vs. Man City, but they'll be without the services of ST Alexander Isak (2 goals in 10 EPL matches).
Man City have conceded 28 goals in the Premier League in 30 matches, but only 11 have been scored at the Etihad; at home, they’ve drastically outperformed their expected goals against mark.
Meanwhile, the Reds have the third-worst goals to xG differential on the road in EPL, underperforming their xG by 5.34 goals.
The Reds have shown up in the FA Cup; they've scored at least 3 goals in all three 2026 FA Cup matches.
Liverpool's problems may lie in the midfield. Man City FW Jeremy Doku is coming off an outstanding performance with Belgium vs. the United States in a friendly, with 3 chances created and 2 shots on target.
Doku's pace could force Liverpool RB Dominik Szoboszlai to stay further back, limiting his ability to make an impact offensively.
Man City have suffered defeat just once at the Etihad this season to an English side — an August loss to Tottenham. Since late November, they've dropped just one home match in all competitions; they also have a pair of victories over Liverpool this season both home and away.
FA Cup: Manchester City vs. Liverpool Spread, Total Goals, Payouts
Manchester City enters Saturday’s game as home favorites in the FA Cup quarterfinals , returning a 1.69x payout ($100 entry pays out $169) on PrizePicks Team Picks if the City win outright.
Liverpool are road underdogs with a 3.84x ($384 payout on a $100 entry) payout if the Reds win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
Winner Payout: Man City – 1.69x | Tie – 4.00x | Liverpool – 3.84x
Spread: Man City -1.5 (2.94x Payout)
Total Goals: 3.5 (Over – 2.38x)
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change. Does not include extra time or penalties.
Man City vs. Liverpool Match Prediction on Total Goals
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your Man City vs. Liverpool prediction on total goals for Saturday, April 4, in the FA Cup.
The under 2.5 total goals for Man City vs. Liverpool is set at 2.63x ($100 pays out $263), with the over 2.5 goals set at 1.44x, on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states.
Check out more of our soccer picks and predictions on PrizePicks.
- Man City have conceded 5.97 fewer goals than expected (xG vs. GF) at the Etihad during the Premier League season.
- Liverpool have scored just 23 away goals in the Premier League, despite an xG of 28.34 through 16 away fixtures.
- No more than 3 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between Man City and Liverpool.
- All eight of Liverpool’s matches against fellow Big Six clubs in all competitions have seen no more than 3 goals scored.
- There have been 4 or more goals scored in only four of Man City’s last 17 matches at the Etihad in all competitions.
- Man City allows just 9.2 shots per match to opponents at the Etihad this season, the third-fewest of any club at home in the Premier League.
- The 11.5 shots per match conceded by Liverpool on the road are the fourth-fewest in the Premier League.
- The two teams combined for only 18 shots on target from 53 shots in the first two meetings this season.
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Man City vs. Liverpool Projected Lineups for FA Cup Match
Here are the projected Manchester City vs. Liverpool XIs for today's FA Cup match. Lineups are not official and should be confirmed before match start.
Man City Lineup vs. Liverpool: Projected 4-2-3-1
- Goalkeeper: James Trafford
- Defense: Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi, Rayan Ait-Nouri
- Midfield: Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Nico O’Reilly
- Forwards: Rayan Cherki, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku
Liverpool Lineup vs. Man City: Projected 4-2-3-1
- Goalkeeper: Giorgi Mamardashvili
- Defense: Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahim Konate, Virgil Van Dijk, Milos Kerkez
- Midfield: Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wertz
- Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo
Man City vs. Liverpool Match Player Picks for FA Cup – April 4, 2026
Here are three top Man City vs. Liverpool picks to target on players for Saturday, April 4 for PrizePicks. Soccer player picks via PrizePicks are headlined by Virgil Van Dijk and Erling Haaland.
Liverpool CB Virgil Van Dijk vs. Man City – 56.5 Passes Attempted
- Virgil Van Dijk attempted 45 passes in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Man City at Anfield on Feb. 8, 2025.
- He also attempted 47 passes on Nov. 9, 2025, as Liverpool fell 3-0 to Man City at the Etihad.
- The Dutch CB has attempted less than 50 passes in each of Liverpool’s last four matches vs. Man City.
- Liverpool average 57.5% possession on the season, but averaged just 49.4% in their two matches vs. Man City this season.
- Man City leads the Premier League with 57.6% average possession, limiting the opportunities for Van Didk to operate on the ball.
Man City CM Bernardo Silva vs. Liverpool: 52.5 Passes Attempted
- Bernardo Silva has attempted at least 56 passes in each of his last nine domestic starts.
- The Portuguese midfielder has averaged 63.6 passes per match in that timeframe.
- He attempted 56 passes in Man City’s 2-1 win vs. Liverpool on Feb. 8, 2026, while their 3-0 win over Liverpool on Nov. 9, 2025 saw him attempt 67 passes.
- Silva has averaged more than a pass per minute over his last four Premier League starts, compiling 357 passes in 345 minutes.
Man City ST Erling Haaland vs. Liverpool: 1.5 Shots on Target
- Erling Haaland averages 3.80 shots and 1.82 shots on target per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.
- Haaland averages 0.67 more shots in matches at the Etihad than on the road this year.
- The Norwegian striker has just 8 shots on target in his last 11 domestic matches, but 3 of those SOT came against Liverpool.
- Haaland has put 5 SOT over his two matches against the Reds this season.
- Teams hosting Liverpool this season are generating 72% of their shot attempts from the middle-third of the pitch, the seventh-highest rate of any Premier League side.
Make Your Man City vs. Liverpool Prediction on PrizePicks
Nearly 750 clubs began their season dreaming of playing for the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium — but only eight remain in the competition as we enter the quarterfinals.
While Man City vs. Liverpool is the headline fixture of the FA Cup quarterfinals, you can make picks on every FA Cup match on PrizePicks this weekend.
You can make your FA Cup on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money if you're right. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats like shots or goals, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make real-money soccer predictions on winners, spreads, total goals, and more!
Stick around with the Playbook for continued soccer predictions, picks, and analysis on every key game.
