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Anfield
Saturday, November 21
Kick Off: 12.45 pm

Saturday’s early kick off sees a mouth watering clash between Liverpool and Manchester City. Both teams are looking to go in the same direction, but are heading in different ones at the moment. Let’s start with the visitors to Anfield, Manchester City. City splashed out big in the summer, and Mark Hughes assembled an attacking squad, many of which believed would be pushing hard to crack the elusive top four. While they got their season off to a flyer, they have hit a groove, or a rut, whichever is more apt, which has seen them draw their last five games in the Premier League. That is a total of 10 points dropped in those five games, which is a huge margin when you are trying to chase down league leaders Chelsea who are exactly that amount ahead of Manchester City.

Some of the draws have been baffling, and unexpected. Sometimes they have had to fight back from behind in games which they were expected to win with ease, and they have also gotten their noses in front on more than one occasion, but just cannot seem to put the games comfortably to bed. Burnley were their latest party-poopers, an 87th minute equaliser robbing City of two vital home points. What is even more baffling is the lack of goals that the attacking squad has been guilty of. Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez are the main crux of the City attack, but they still have Robinho waiting in the wings. The Brazilian will be named to the squad, but will probably miss out again until it is certain he has fully recovered. Saying all that, by winning their game in hand over Tottenham and Aston Villa directly above them, City would be in fourth.

Liverpool’s trials and tribulations meanwhile have been recorded. They are down in seventh place, one place and one point behind Manchester City. Both are looking to get in amongst the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, but while City are scrapping for points, Liverpool appear to be in something of a free-fall. While Manchester City have drawn their last five games, Liverpool have lost three, drawn one and won one, so that equates to having mustered just one league win between the two teams in ten matches. Some semi-good news for Liverpool, is that skipper Steven Gerrard is expected to play, and they need his passion to get out of their slump. The injury news is only semi-good, because other star player Fernando Torres won’t be in action. The much talked about great hope in the form of Alberto Aquilani has still not fully recovered from a calf problem.

Liverpool do have a pretty good record against City, and in normal circumstances would be expected to win. They turned over City’s rivals United pretty well to get that only win in their nine games, did Liverpool, and they did put in a marked improvement when they drew with Lyon in the Champions League. They followed that up though, with a low key 2-2 draw at home against Birmingham, which required Steven Gerrard coming off the bench at half time to steel his side for the fight back from 2-1 down, which a controversial penalty did. They had plenty of chances in that match, but their sharpness in front of goal is pretty much down to both Torres and Gerrard at the moment. Gerrard has the capacity to inspire and drive a whole team on, and the Anfield crowd won’t take a lot more surely.

Liverpool to win: Evens at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at Totesport
Manchester City to win: 10/3 at Victor Chandler

Betting Advice: Despite the run of poor form, Liverpool can climb above City with a win. But it will be possibly their most disastrous defeat if they succumb to another loss, for that will leave them four points adrift of sixth placed City. With both sides struggling to pull a win out of their hat, it has every indicator that a draw is worth taking, and that is reflected pretty much across the board of Bookmakers, as the shortest odds for a result, is a 1-1 draw 6/1 at 888Sport
With them being draw specialists, it could be worth a punt on taking: Draw No Bet Manchester City: 2/1 at SkyBet