ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - MANCHESTER CITY VS LIVERPOOL

English Premier

2025-02-23 - Manchester City vs Liverpool

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Manchester City v Liverpool
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 23rd February 2025 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Manchester City

In his first season in charge at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City finished 3rd in the Premier League table, reached the Semi Final in the FA Cup and were upset in the Last 16 of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola's team have been a regular at the business end of the premier European competition since then, but on Wednesday night, Manchester City faced their earliest exit in the Champions League since 2012/13.

Of course the Champions League is in a new format now, but Manchester City's struggles in the Group Stage proved costly as they were well beaten by Real Madrid and it means the FA Cup is the only realistic silverware that can be won. The manager is also motivated by guiding Manchester City back into the Champions League next season and the side are 4th in the Premier League table with an 8-2-2 record at the Etihad Stadium as the focus is now on domestic matters.

Manchester City are struggling for consistency and while they have won 5 of their last 9 games in all competitions, they have also been beaten 4 times in that run. In the main, the form at home has been steadier and Manchester City have won 5 of their last 6 fixtures at the Etihad Stadium with the exception being the late collapse against Real Madrid in the Champions League Play Off Round First Leg.

Erling Haaland surprisingly was left on the bench for the entire Second Leg of that Champions League tie after telling Pep Guardiola he 'did not feel good' on the morning of the game. Suffice to say he is at least a doubt for this fixture, while Kevin De Bruyne was also left on the bench. Manuel Akanji has already been ruled out and John Stones is set for another spell on the sidelines.

Liverpool

Darwin Nunez missed a glaring chance in the second half of the fixture at Villa Park and manager Arne Slot was not enamoured by the efforts of his striker following that squandered opportunity. In the cold light of day, Liverpool may feel the point earned is a point gained, but Arsenal have a chance of being much closer to the League leaders at kick off and that could bring some pressure onto the Liverpool squad.

An 8 point lead in the Premier League table is a big advantage for Liverpool, even if it is now Arsenal who have the game in hand to play next month. Another fixture has been ticked off and Liverpool still have to host The Gunners, but the focus will be on maintaining the unbeaten away record in the top flight when travelling to the Etihad Stadium. The Reds have improved their away record to 9-5-0 after the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa during the week.

Liverpool may still be picking up results, but it is hard to ignore the fact that they have won 1 of their last 4 games in all competitions. There has definitely been a bit more vulnerability about Liverpool away from home where they have won 2 of their last 8 games in all competitions, but in the main Liverpool have remained tough to beat.

Cody Gakpo is hoping to be passed fit for Liverpool having missed the last two League games. Joe Gomez has been joined by Conor Bradley on the sidelines.

Head to Head

A dominant Liverpool comfortably beat Manchester City 2-0 at Anfield earlier this season.

Manchester City are unbeaten in 7 home games against Liverpool, but 3 of the last 5 at the Etihad Stadium have ended in draws.

Prediction

Both of these teams had tough away games on Wednesday evening and so there could be some rotation when Manchester City host Liverpool in a huge Premier League game.

At the time of writing, there is no telling how Arsenal have done against West Ham United and that Premier League fixture will have an impact on this one, especially on the League leaders Liverpool.

If Arsenal win, the pressure will be building on Liverpool and they will be desperately looking for a positive result here.

However, anything less from The Gunners and the pressure will have eased significantly on Liverpool, despite the recent dip in form, and the players may be able to express themselves much better.

Either way, you have to believe Liverpool can cause problems for a Manchester City team that were humbled by Real Madrid in the Champions League Play Off Round having been convincingly beaten in the Spanish capital on Wednesday. Another defensive injury does little to help, while Pep Guardiola may be sweating on the fitness of Erling Haaland who had admitted he was not ready to play on the morning of the Second Leg.

Without their star striker, Manchester City lacked a focal point and that will be the challenge for the four time defending English Champions. It has been a really poor season compared to the standards set, but plenty of pride will be on the line against one of the clubs that have been a major rival for the biggest honours in recent seasons.

Manchester City may feel attack is the best form of defence and they will have a rested Kevin De Bruyne to employ.

However, the defensive problems are mounting up again and this Liverpool team have avoided defeat on their travels thanks to the huge amount of goals they continue to score. Even with limited opportunities, Liverpool are finding a way through and they can certainly use the pace in the final third to turn the ball over and get away very quickly against this Manchester City team.

The weather conditions look tough in Manchester this weekend- early forecasts call for huge gusts and heavy rain and that could have an impact on the football that is played.

It also feels odd to have Manchester City down as a home underdog, but the defensive issues makes it hard to trust them and instead this may be a game in which the goals flow.

The last 3 fixtures between Liverpool and Manchester City have all ended with less than three goals scored, but prior to that, 7 of 8 had featured at least FOUR goals shared out.

Liverpool are not exactly defending with a lot of confidence right now, but they will certainly feel they can exploit Manchester City's defensive problems and so goals looks the best way to approach this fixture.

Keep an eye out on Pep Guardiola's press conference on Friday- if he rules out Erling Haaland, backing three goals to be scored might be priced up much more appealingly. Writing this on Thursday before full team news is released means those prices are too short, but an early goal could really open up this Premier League game and four or more goals to be scored is the call at odds against.

The Pick :

Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Over 3.5 Goals at 2.00 with BetFred