Liverpool will bid to end their long wait for a Premier League win at Manchester City when they travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon for the final game of the weekend in England’s top flight.
The Reds’ coronation as title winners is on hold after recent stumbles at Everton and Aston Villa and Arne Slot will know another setback would invite Arsenal back into the picture.
Pep Guardiola and his beleaguered City side, so often Liverpool’s tormentors in recent years, will now try to inflict a body blow in a title race which doesn’t concern them this time around.
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Man City vs Liverpool betting tips
Reds to end Etihad famine
Manchester City have long been the thorn in Liverpool’s side, with Jurgen Klopp-led teams often undone by the brilliance exhibited by Guardiola’s squad in recent years.
The Merseysiders haven’t won a Premier League game at the Etihad since Klopp’s maiden visit in 2015, although they have won there twice since in cup competitions.
If they can alter that stat now, then Liverpool will take a massive leap towards their goal of a second Premier League crown.
City were in tatters when they visited Anfield at the start of December and Liverpool’s 2-0 win all but extinguished their hopes of staying in the title race.
Things have got only a touch better in the interim and the Citizens arrive after four wins and four defeats in their last eight games in all competitions.
One of those wins was a 2-1 FA Cup success against League One Leyton Orient and they have achieved only one clean sheet in that run.
Liverpool’s only win in their last four outings was a nervy 2-1 home success against Wolves last weekend. There have been jitters of late but, overall, Liverpool’s body of work this season is streets ahead of City’s.
Ticking off a win at the Etihad would be their biggest title statement yet and they are fancied to do just that.
Salah to slay City
Mohamed Salah’s future remains shrouded in doubt but if this is to be his last season at Anfield, the Egyptian appears hell bent on going out in style.
Salah has 24 goals and 15 assists from just 26 Premier League games to this point and will fancy his chances of netting the opener.
He has faced City 17 times for Liverpool in the Premier League and the Champions League and can point to 10 goals scored as a very healthy contribution when considering just how strong City have been in that time.
He remains the go-to man for Liverpool and is on the end of many rapid transitions from defence to attack, which could serve well if the visitors allow their hosts to dominate the ball.
Goal-fest seem unlikely
These teams have had a habit of serving up classics in the recent past, with five clashes in a row during 2021-22 producing four or more goals.
That trend has dissipated recently, with the last three games each producing exactly two goals.
Liverpool have a lot riding on this contest and Slot’s side tend to try and keep a degree of control in their games.
Their previous two away games at Everton and Aston Villa have ended 2-2 but in that December meeting at Anfield they strangled City in a 2-0 win, conceding possession but just two shots on target to the visitors.
That is the template Slot is likely to try to follow as he seeks what could be a title-defining win.
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