These two sides face off on Sunday with Manchester City looking to close the gap at the top of the table to just two points, with Chelsea in League Cup final action, whilst Liverpool are fighting for the top four.
After what was Liverpool’s worst start to a season in the Premier League era, Brendan Rodgers’ side have recovered in fine fashion and they are amongst the division’s form teams. A switch to playing three at the back and the emergence of Emre Can in recent weeks has certainly boosted the Reds and they recorded a very useful away victory over Southampton last weekend despite not fielding a recognised striker. Whilst they rode their luck at times and they can certainly thank Kevin Friend, Liverpool did produce a good performance at a ground where Southampton have been impressive this season and they will certainly take heart from that.
Manchester City were equally impressive last week when they demolished Newcastle 5-0 in a match which highlighted the ruthlessness that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have been missing at points throughout the season. Sergio Aguero will be key to City’s title hopes and they realistically need to win nearly every game if they are to retain their title and their best chance of doing so is by keeping the Argentine striker fit. He travels to Anfield having scored a penalty in the victory over Newcastle and a consolation in the 2-1 loss to Barcelona.
With both teams in European action during the week fatigue may well play a part in a match which could go a long way in deciding not only the destination of the title, but also who will be representing England in next year’s Champions League.
Liverpool v Manchester City Betting Tips
- Match to end in a draw – Liverpool have been impressive recently and we think that both sides will cancel each other out on Sunday. In the last 12 meetings between the two sides, six of the matches have ended in a draw and if you fancy that run to continue then a wide range of bookies are offering odds of 5/2.
- Daniel Sturridge to score last – Brendan Rodgers has been nursing Sturridge back into first team action after his return from a long injury lay off and he could well be brought off the bench once again at Anfield. The 25 year old striker scored five goals in 21 appearances for the Citizens before leaving due to a lack of first team football and he will be very keen to show the home fans what they missed out on. The England international can be backed to round off the scoring at odds of 6/1 with Coral.
- Match to feature over 3.5 goals – The last six meetings between these two sides have produced on average four goals per game, with only one match – a 2-1 City win in 2013 – falling under 3.5 goals. Both teams have a fine array of attacking talent and both sides will be confident of hitting the back of the net and over 3.5 goals can be backed at odds of 21/10 with BetVictor.
- Sergio Aguero to score first – The ex-Atletico Madrid player has been in fine form when fit this season and he is always a good bet to open the scoring, particularly at odds as good as 5/1 with Betfair.