STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Sun: Manchester City v Liverpool

Liverpool can take a big step towards Premier League glory with victory at Manchester City, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

This is the middle leg of a huge trio of games for the league leaders, who drew 2-2 at Aston Villa on Wednesday – they face City at the Etihad and then Newcastle at home next week in a vital period for their title ambitions, as they aim to keep Arsenal – who they don’t play at Anfield until the 10th of May – at arm’s length.

Arne Slot’s men have endured a small wobble in recent weeks – an FA Cup defeat to Plymouth came with rested players but a 2-2 draw at Everton was fair despite a late goal, they struggled in the second half against Wolves and were held once again at Villa Park. Some have suggested that tiredness and nerves are sneaking in – entirely understandable given the stakes, and the fact Liverpool have been battling on four fronts – but Liverpool are six points clear for a reason and are travelling to a different Manchester City than the unit that has won three Premier League titles and a treble.

City, who have seen a number of players drop below their best this season, especially in midfield, endured a horrific mid-season collapse which saw them lose nine of their 12 matches from late October to Boxing Day, ending their title hopes and putting Pep Guardiola under arguably the greatest strain of his managerial career.

Since then, City have recovered slightly. They’ve won eight of 15 games since Boxing Day in all competitions and appear to have undergone a useful January refresh with Omar Mamoush, Nico Gonzales, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov all joining and getting stuck into things quickly.

Marmoush has looked a threat since he came, scoring a hat-trick when City took Newcastle apart 4-0 last week here, whilst Nico Gonzales was also excellent in that game. However, many of the cracks still remain and City’s form looks less impressive when scrutinised.

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Manchester City v Liverpool
Premier League
16:30 Sky Sports Main Event HD / Sky Sports Premier League HD / Sky Go

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
DEC 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 2-0 Man City
MAR 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 1-1 Man City
NOV 2023 PREMIER LEAGUE Man City 1-1 Liverpool
APR 2023 PREMIER LEAGUE Man City 4-1 Liverpool
DEC 2022 EFL CUP Man City 3-2 Liverpool

MANCHESTER CITY
FEB 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND 2ND LEG Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle
FEB 2025 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND 1ST LEG Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid
FEB 2025 FA CUP Leyton Orient 1-2 Manchester City
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City

LIVERPOOL
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 2-2 Liverpool
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 2-1 Wolves
FEB 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Everton 2-2 Liverpool
FEB 2025 ENGLISH FA CUP Plymouth 1-0 Liverpool
FEB 2025 ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP Liverpool 4-0 Tottenham

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Of their eight wins since Boxing Day, two have come against Salford and Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, two more against relegation battlers Leicester and Ipswich, and two other successes were against out of form West Ham and Chelsea sides who have struggled in recent months.

They deserve credit for how they dispatched Newcastle aside last week – when they felt like the City of old – but the way Real Madrid beat them over two legs in the Champions League, especially in Wednesday’s second leg when Madrid didn’t have to step out of second gear for large parts of their 3-0 victory.

City have faced five top half sides in Europe in 2025 and have drawn 2-2 at Brentford, lost 5-1 against Arsenal, 4-2 against PSG, lost twice against Real Madrid, and beaten Newcastle 4-0 in a result that looks like an outlier alongside their other form.

Liverpool will need to be better than they were against Everton and the second half of their scrappy win against Wolves if they are to take advantage but they performed with credit against Aston Villa (who have lost just once at home this season in the Premier League), creating several big chances and racking up 2.56 xG compared to 0.65 for Villa and winning the shot count 17-9.

Diogo Jota was unlucky not to score, Darwin Nunez really should have late on—and while they will be frustrated not to have taken three points, they performed much better than they had at the weekend against Wolves when nerves seemed to affect them in the second half.

There has rarely been a good time to visit Manchester City in any competition over recent seasons, but the timing is as good as Liverpool – 17 points ahead of their rivals – could have asked for and they look worthy favourites at 6/5 with starsports.bet to take a big step towards the title.

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