Stats show that Manchester City's injury situation in 2018/19 was worse than Liverpool's in the current campaign.
The Reds have been ravaged by injuries this term, particularly in central defence. It's been a major factor as to why their first ever Premier League title defence has gone so horribly wrong under Jurgen Klopp.
In total, stats highlighted by The Athletic, Liverpool have had 18 players injured and a total of 155 games missed as a result.
Only Everton, the Merseyside rivals who finally beat them at Anfield last weekend, have had more players injured with 20 - causing 106 games to be missed.
However, perhaps the most interesting finding from the detailed report from Caoimhe O'Neill is that City had more injuries to contend with in 2018/19.
Having just come off a record-setting 100 points season, City had to contend with a first-team player missing 10 or more days on 35 occasions in the first 24 games.
Showing remarkable consistency in the business end of the season and led by captain Vincent Kompany, City pipped Liverpool by a single point to retain the title on the final day.
This season, Liverpool have had a player out for at least 10 days on 28 occasions - the same number as Chelsea in 2017/18 under Antonio Conte.
Leicester City, meanwhile saw their injuries double from 12 to 24 in the season after their fairytale league title triumph after Claudio Ranieri.
The key issue for Liverpool, though, is the fact that their major injuries have been in central defence.
Virgil van Dijk has missed 20 games ever since he damaged his ACL as a result of a challenge from Jordan Pickford in October, with his regular partners Joe Gomez and Joel Matip absent for 16 and 18 respectively.
They've now fielded 18 different centre-back pairings and counting in all competitions after Nathaniel Phillips and Ozan Kabak playing the 2-0 defeat to Everton following Jordan Henderson's first-half injury.
The skipper and defensive midfielder Fabinho have had to deputise at the heart of the backline, while January signing Ben Davies has yet to feature since arriving from Preston.
Another monumental injury blow has been the one to summer signing Diogo Jota, who scored nine goals in all competitions prior to being sidelined in December.
In a welcome boost, he recently turned to full training.
source https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-stats-show-the-injuries-to-premier-league-champions-20210226
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