Manchester City will look to keep alive their Premier League title hopes as they travel to Anfield to take on reigning champions Liverpool on Super Sunday.
Liverpool put an end to their five-game winless run in the Premier League last weekend, as they came from a goal down to defeat Newcastle United 4-1 at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men are now unbeaten in each of their past six Premier League contests at Anfield following on from that win last weekend (W3-D3-L0), but they remain in sixth position, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s men dropped points for the fifth time in six matches in the Premier League last Sunday, as they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at struggling Spurs, on an afternoon in which both of my selections landed, with help from bet365’s Early Payout.
Whilst that draw moved them a point clear of third-placed Aston Villa, the Cityzens have now fallen six points behind leaders Arsenal in the table.
However, Manchester City did advance to the League Cup final on Wednesday night, as they defeated holders Newcastle United 3-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate, on an evening I also landed a 5/6 winner.
How the bookies view it: Liverpool slight favourites
Liverpool are slight favourites to back up their win at home to Newcastle last weekend, with bet365 pricing a home success at 11/8.
Manchester City are 7/4 to claim just their second win from their last seven Premier League outings, whilst the draw is 27/10.
Head to head: Anfield is City’s bogey ground
Despite all their domestic success over the past decade and a half, Manchester City have an abysmal record at Anfield, with the Cityzens winning on just one of their last 22 visits there (W1-D7-L14), with that being a 1-4 success in February 2021.
Pep Guardiola’s men will try to take confidence from the fact that they won the reverse fixture at the Etihad in November 3-0.
Players to watch: Flo to be involved in another goal
After his big-money move in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen, Florian Wirth has felt it tough since moving to the Premier League, but in recent matches, he seems as if he’s finally beginning to settle in.
The German attacker has scored four goals and provided two assists across his previous eight Premier League appearances for the Reds – including a goal and assist against Newcastle United last weekend – and he is an appealing 17/10 at William Hill to Score or Assist on Sunday.
Hugo Ekiteke has made a decent start to his Liverpool career, as he has scored 15 goals across his opening 32 appearances for the Reds.
The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt attacker scored a stunning brace against Newcastle United last weekend, and the 4/5 on offer at bet365 for him to Score or Assist on Sunday also appeals to me here.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Liverpool will still be missing Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Alexander Isak through injury, whilst Joe Gomez is a doubt.
Manchester City will still be expected to be without the injured Josko Gvardiol, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku and Savinho, whilst Bernardo Silva is an “incredible doubt”.
Liverpool: Alisson, Szoboszlai, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, MacAllister, Wirtz, Gakpo, Salah, Ekiteke
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rodri, Foden, Reijnders, Cherki, Semenyo, Haaland
Anything else catch the eye?
Given how inconsistent both of these teams have been in recent weeks, it's hard to put any trust in either side to collect all three points in Merseyside.
Given Manchester City’s abysmal record at Anfield, I would probably give Liverpool the slight edge, but I’m happy to stick to backing two of their in-form attackers to provide a goal contribution.
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