After Pep Guardiola left Ederson out of his starting XI for Man City’s trip to Liverpool, the coach said he “just wanted to make a change”.

Ahead of kick-off at Anfield on Sunday, it was revealed that Ederson, Man City’s first-choice goalkeeper, had been left out in favor of Stefan Ortega.

Ederson was one of three players substituted along with Josko Gvardiol and Jack Grealish, with Guardiola apparently desperate to snap his side out of a six-game winless run.

Speaking to Sky Sports before the game, the Man City manager tried to explain why he dropped his No.1 – and insisted it wasn’t because of form.

“We just wanted to change something,” said Guardiola.

“Eddy saved a lot of goals for us. He has saved many, many times one-on-one, but today I chose Stefan.

“Both are incredible top goalkeepers, both are incredibly good with their feet and in one-on-one situations.

“We have had two incredible goalkeepers since he arrived.”

However, the decision comes after Ederson’s costly error in the 3-3 defeat at home to Feyenoord in the Champions League in midweek.

With Matheus Nunes and Ruben Dias also joining the team – the latter for the first time since October – Guardiola claimed his lineup was based entirely on fitness.

“Basically the players (who start) are fitter. That’s why,” he explained.

“I could have replaced a few other players in the starting line-up.

“I know what Ruben can give us in terms of leadership, but the other selections are about having more rhythm and more legs.”

However, Arne Slot believes Guardiola’s selection process could be more tactical, telling Sky Sports: “If you look at the lineup, maybe there is a solution again because there are a lot of midfielders lined up, but let’s see.”

“If you’ve watched City for seven or eight seasons you know they like to dominate possession.

“The only difference is that they played with wingers before. Either they don’t play or they have chosen other types of wingers.”