Another EPL weekend, another blockbuster.

For a couple of seasons, Liverpool vs Manchester City was THE match until injuries decimated the Reds’ defence.

But the early signs are that this fixture – latest edition at Anfield, 11.30pm Sunday in Malaysia – is once again top of the bill.

With Chelsea having reality checks at home and abroad, and Ronaldo-United still to find their feet, the two top clubs of recent years look set to resume their duel for supremacy.

Just two questions dominate discussion before the big kick-off: Are the Reds really back? And should City have bought a striker?

After a week of contrasting fortunes, the answers are probably: ‘not quite’ and ‘yes, definitely’.

Jurgen Klopp’s men bounced back from surrendering two sloppy points at Brentford to give whipping boys Porto another thrashing.

But against rather more exalted opponents, City produced a masterclass at Stamford Bridge only to be undone by the little maestro himself in Paris.

As a result, Liverpool may be more upbeat, but City had a couple of far more rigorous workouts.

And there’s no shame in losing to a Lionel Messi clincher of pure quality and rare significance in midweek.

City pretty much held their own against the Paris Saint-Germain galacticos and probably deserved a draw.

A moment’s hesitation for the first goal should have been cancelled out before half-time.

But first, Raheem Sterling contrived to head onto the bar from six yards and then, even more incredibly, Bernardo Silva hit it again from three yards with his left foot!

The second was one of the misses of the millennium and can happen to the best.

But the two combined, coming after requiring a huge deflection to beat Chelsea, underlined the need for a top-quality goal poacher.

Yes, they did score 17 in one four-game purple patch but seem to be beating teams by four or five, or one or not at all.

Their plethora of midfielders all have goals in them, but none are natural predators – not even Gabriel Jesus, who was once considered the successor to the sorely-missed Sergio Aguero.

For all the Brazilian’s industry he was only fit to load the ammunition for the deadly Argentine.

Of course, for months they and the whole football world thought they were getting Harry Kane. And to many observers, that would have been that as far as the title was concerned.

But a one-horse race became a thoroughbred duel when Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku.

Except that Kane didn’t come. Jack Grealish did – for a British record £100m – but seemed surplus to requirements. And we know the rest.

City didn’t need Grealish but needed Kane. Just how badly, they didn’t realise until now. And they could have got him for £150m.

It’s an awful lot, but money is no object to owners who know how to navigate Financial Fair Play rules.

The upshot is that Pep Guardiola has been left with a talented band but no lead singer.

They will continue to hit the right notes and dominate possession, but will they wow at the big gigs?

Liverpool fans also had concerns about their club’s lack of action in the transfer window.

But they’re now appreciating why they didn’t rush to replace Gini Wijnaldum: the Dutchman’s departure opened a door for a couple of gems from their own production line.

Bursting to the front of the queue was precocious 18-year-old Harvey Elliott who looked very special indeed in a handful of games.

But a serious ankle injury against Leeds means he’ll miss much of the season. Horrendous luck for the kid and the club but, still, no need to panic when Thiago Alacantara is available.

But then the injury curse strikes in the same place again – last year it was central defence, this year midfield – and the Spaniard’s stop-start Liverpool career stops again.

In the Carabao Cup at Norwich, Klopp even tried a 16-year-old Kaide Gordon who looks pretty handy too. But haven’t we forgotten someone?

At 20, Curtis Jones is almost a veteran to the teen duo and, hampered by minor injuries, seemed almost a forgotten man. Not anymore.

The Scouser’s man-of-the match performance in Porto was revelatory. Making the kind of driving runs not seen since Steven Gerrard, Jones had a hand in four of the five goals.

On Sunday, he won’t find opponents as accommodating as Porto’s and certainly not a keeper from Keystone Cops.

But Jones has given the Reds a welcome boost and the front three should be the main beneficiaries.

On Sunday, besides Thiago, Liverpool are likely to be without Trent Alexander-Arnold for whom master of all trades, James Milner, will again step in.

And while City were flailing at the woodwork in frustration, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane were managing to convert their tap-ins. A confidence boost, no matter how simple they were.

Despite City’s defeat, confidence is not something City will lack. Says skipper Ruben Dias: “It (the loss) affects nothing. We know what we need to do at Anfield to win.”

Scoring would be one of them and in Paris he did acknowledge this: “Essentially, I think it was a matter of us not finishing what we created.”

You feel that neither are quite as imperious as they were in the seasons before the pandemic (and injuries) hit.

But in front of a baying Kop, Liverpool just may have the edge.

Either way, it should be an occasion not to be missed and could have a big impact on the season.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.