Salah misses out on best Manchester City and Liverpool combined XI

While Thursday's night's clash between Manchester City and Liverpool may not carry the same level of intrigue it would have had the former not lost at Chelsea last time out - a result which handed the Reds their first ever Premier League title - it remains a marquee tie nonetheless.

Far and away the two top teams in England over the past two years go head-to-head, coached by two of the most acclaimed managers in the game, though it remains to be seen how messrs Guardiola and Klopp approach the match in terms of team selection. Rotation is certainly likely from both camps, but there will be a certain amount of pride at stake, particularly from the hosts' camp having surrendered their crown to the visitors last week.

One thing for certain is both bosses can call upon hugely talented squads, albeit with the exception of a handful of absentees, most notably in the form of Fernandinho (suspended) and Sergio Aguero (injured) as far as the home side are concerned. Overlooking those that are unavailable, WhoScored ratings suggest that the top combined XI of the two sides is unsurprisingly tipped in Liverpool's favour, with eight representatives to City's three.

However, there is one big omission from the lineup, with Mohamed Salah pipped to the spot on the right flank by wing wizard Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian has been in and out of the City side all season, starting just 18 of 26 league appearances, but has certainly made his time on the pitch count - with only Kevin De Bruyne earning a higher rating (7.88) for the now former champions this season.

Mahrez's score of 7.57 edges out a still impressive 7.50 from Salah, who has considerably more goals (17 to 9) but from considerably more minutes. In fact, with Mahrez registering more assists thus far  this season (8 to 7), it's the former Leicester man that has had a direct hand in a goal slightly more frequently, doing so every 94.2 minutes to Salah's 97.5.

With more key passes, successful dribbles, fouls won, tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, along with a vastly superior pass accuracy (90.1 to 76.2 per cent), Mahrez's inclusion at Salah's expense is more than justified from a statistical standpoint.

Elsewhere, joining the Algeria international and aforementioned star man Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva (7.13 rating) is the third and final City star in the XI, making up a three man midfield alongside the Belgian and Reds skipper Jordan Henderson (7.18).

In what will be the Spaniard's last season at the Etihad, not ending how he would have hoped, the 34-year-old has continued to prove why he has been among the league's finest players of the last decade. Goal and assist returns may have dwindled (four and seven respectively) with less playing time but the little magician has still averaged 68.5 passes per 90 at an 88.1 per cent success rate and 2.4 key passes per 90 to boot to pip the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum and Fabinho to the lineup.

That means it's an all Liverpool back five, with Joe Gomez (6.90) just getting the nod over Aymeric Laporte alongside Virgil van Dijk. Meanwhile Alisson claims the number one spot over compatriot Ederson and the same can be said of Roberto Firmino in place of Gabriel Jesus at the opposite end - a spot the Reds striker would have claimed even if Aguero had been fit.