ENGLAND'S newly-crowned champions travel to face the team they dethroned in an intriguing Thursday night showdown.
Liverpool clinched the title without kicking a ball, and seven games to spare, last Thursday night as City's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea made the gap at the top insurmountable.
City will give Jurgen Klopp's men a guard of honour tonight before trying to prove they are no fading force.
Liverpool have already set a clutch of records with their sensational glory charge, but there are more still up for grabs, such as City's milestone of a 100-point season.
Having been in party mode for the past week though after ending the club's 30-year title wait, will Klopp's players be able to shake off the hangovers and be able to raise their game to avoid just a second league defeat?
And despite the Reds' dominance, their recent away record is poor, failing to score in four games in all competitions – three of which were defeats. The only one of those which came after the restart was the painfully dull 0-0 derby draw with Everton, and a big improvement will be needed against City's slickers.
Pep Guardiola's side haven't been untouchable since the three-month break either though. They were all over the place defensively in the loss to Chelsea, before responding with a routine 2-0 weekend win at Newcastle to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
How do the bookies view it?
While not hitting the heights of last season, City have still been pretty strong at home, winning nine of their last 11 in the league.
Betfair make them 11-10 favourites, with Liverpool 12-5 at BetVictor and the draw a 3-1 shot with Unibet.
Betting angles
Fernandinho's Stamford Bridge red card means he sits out this one through suspension, with the erratic Nicholas Otamendi set for a start in central defence.
With the equally unreliable Benjamin Mendy at right-back, Liverpool's swift counter-attacking should yield at least a goal for the visitors.
Both teams to score pays around the 1-2 mark, but can be doubled with City to avoid defeat for a 21-20 bet builder with bet365. City have lost just one of the last 10 Premier League meetings with the Reds at home and will be determined not to roll over against the new kings of England.
With Sergio Aguero out injured for the hosts, the scoring burden will fall on Raheem Sterling against his old team. The England forward is an expert at sniffing out a chance, although he doesn't always put them away, and looks at tempting at 37-20 with Unibet to get on the scoresheet.
The midfield battleground will be a fascinating power struggle and if City anchorman Rodri gets the nod to start, consider him for a card at 3-1 with William Hill.
The Spaniard is his side's most booked player this season with eight yellows in 29 appearances and, having been booked in the return fixture which Liverpool won 3-1, he will again be rushing around trying to put out fires all over the pitch.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool will be played on Jul 2, 2020 and kick off at 20:15. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Liverpool prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
