Man City v Liverpool Betting Preview
This will be the highlight of the weekend’s fixture list in the Premier League, as the Anfield crew head to the Etihad on the back of a difficult week for them. Big points are still up for grabs for both, with Liverpool trying to muscle their way into a place in Europe next season, while the now Mario Balotelli-less Man City are trying to figure out how to close the gap on Manchester United at the top of the table. The two sides played out an intriguing 2-2 draw at Anfield early in the season, will there be a repeat?
Man City v Liverpool Betting Odds at online bookmaker Paddy Power
Man City 5/6, Draw 13/5, Liverpool 10/3
Man City v Liverpool Recommended Bet:
Dropped points against bottom side QPR in the week didn’t help Roberto Mancini’s title defence. That was a missed opportunity as they had closed the gap to United to five points a couple of weekends ago, but couldn’t sustain their pressure. A disappointing 0-0 at Loftus Road really threw a spanner in their works. So now the saga of Mario Balotelli is over, can City get themselves focused? There is every chance of them responding with a win because they have been strong at home this season. Despite not playing anywhere near their best this season, City have taken nine wins, two draws and just one defeat on home soil this term and head into Sunday’s clash on the back of three straight wins, all with a clean sheet as well. City perhaps haven’t been as potent in front of goal as they would have liked this term (indeed they are 18 goals short of their tally at this stage last season), but they are averaging two and a quarter goals per game at the Etihad. But their defence has been superb, conceding at a rate of just 0.75 goals per home game.
City have kept clean sheets in 50% of their home games this season and have actually kept six clean sheets in a row now in all competitions heading into the game, so that is something which should see them get at least a point. City are on a small trend at home against Liverpool, having won the last two Premier League meetings by a 3-0 scoreline. They have also prevented Liverpool from scoring on their last three Premier League visits. City have won just two of the last eight Premier League meetings against Liverpool though, losing just one. They are in solid form at the Etihad and that may be the thing which tips the balance. City have won 26 and lost just one of their last 41 on home soil in league matches now. Having scored two goals or more in four of their last five Premier League fixtures now and having kept four clean sheets on the bounce, does put the home side in ascendancy here.
Liverpool have yet to win a match against one of the top sides in the league this season and were dealt a massive blow at Arsenal in the week after they blew a two goal lead at the Emirates. That was on the back of being dumped out of the FA Cup by Oldham. It is that inconsistency which keeps hampering the Reds, especially away from home. They have won just one of their last four on the road now and are just struggling for conviction. You can’t blow two goal leads away from home and not expect there to be some fall out. Defensively Liverpool are a little shaky, but the addition of Daniel Sturridge up front with Luis Suarez looks as if it could be quite profitable, and they have the speed to cause defences problems. With a goal against Arsenal, Suarez took his run to nine goals in nine games. However, Liverpool need to snap a trend as they haven’t scored in any of their last three matches at Manchester City.
Liverpool blew the lead twice when they hosted the Citizens earlier in the season at Anfield, a game in which four goals was scored from just six on target in the whole game. Liverpool are the most accurate long passing team in the league, and they are good at taking the lion’s share of possession. They played some open, fluid football at Arsenal, but their defence looked a bit comical at times, nowhere near as strong as that of City’s at the moment. With the Reds having taken just one win in the last eight Premier League matches against City, and with their shaky away form and with the strengths of City, this may be a tough match for Liverpool to get anything out of. A draw wouldn’t be a bad result for them, but as they have proven against the top sides this year, they just aren’t close enough to compete consistently.
Going to be worth going over 2.5 goals for odds of 4/6 at online bookmaker Paddy Power. Liverpool’s last nine in the Premier League have all gone over the mark.
Form
Man City WWWWWD, Liverpool WWLWLD
Stat Attack
City have kept six clean sheets in a row in all competitions now
Liverpool are yet to beat any of the top six sides this season
Luis Suarez has nine goals in his last nine games
Liverpool have scored in their last 11 EPL matches now
City have lost just one of their last 41 Premier League matches
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