English Premier
2012-01-03 - Manchester City vs Liverpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 3 January 2012 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester City
So it seems the Manchester City juggernaut has finally hit the buffers in recent weeks as a poor Christmas period has seen their lead at the top of the Premier League being whittled down to just down to goal difference. It wasn't all bad news for City fans as rivals Manchester United also lost last time out, while all the sides in the top 6 have dropped points in the last couple of weeks.
Manchester City remain on top of the Premier League with their 45 points, leading the way from Manchester United by 5 goals. After failing to score in their last 2 Premier League games, you can be sure that Roberto Mancini will be glad to return to the Etihad Stadium where City have won all 9 Premier League games this season, scoring a League high 28 goals and conceding a League low 4.
The team have actually picked up 52 points from a possible 54 in the 2011 calender year at home. They have failed to win their last 2 Premier League games, both away from home without scoring a goal, although they remain solid at home. City have improved to 10 consecutive wins here in all competitions, and they have kept clean sheets in the last 3 they have played.
Roberto Mancini has been critical of the fixture list which means his side had one day to rest between games, while Liverpool will have had three days. He rested a number of first team players in the loss at Sunderland, so expect the likes of Mario Balotelli, Micah Richards, Sergio Aguero and David Silva to be restored to the starting XI.
Liverpool
Liverpool probably enjoyed the last couple of days of the last year as it allowed them to make up some ground on the top 4 teams as they beat Newcastle United, but Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City all failed to win games. The return of Steven Gerrard will be a further boost for the fans, although Luis Suarez could still be set to miss 8 games following a ban for alleged racial abuse aimed at Patrice Evra.
There was further good news for Liverpool on Monday as Arsenal became the latest of the sides in the top 6 to lose a game, and that means the Reds are in 6th place but only 3 points behind Chelsea in the final relegation spot. Liverpool have a 5-1-3 away record this season in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals and conceding 7, giving them the 2nd best away defence in the League so far.
The team are unbeaten in their last 5 Premier League games since a 1-0 loss at Fulham, and they have picked up 11 points from the last 15 available. Things look a lot better after beating Newcastle last time out as they had drawn 2 games in a row before that, at Wigan and at home against Blackburn Rovers. Liverpool have won 7 of their last 9 away games in all competitions, although they have failed to win 2 of their last 3. They have conceded only 3 goals in their last 9 away games in all competitions.
Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez look both set to start this game despite Liverpool playing their FA Cup tie on Friday night. There are no new injury worries for Kenny Dalglish ahead of this game.
Head to Head
Liverpool and Manchester City drew 1-1 at Anfield earlier this season in an entertaining game.
City beat Liverpool 3-0 here last season, their first win over the Reds at home in 6 attempts.
Liverpool have actually failed to score in 4 of their last 5 visits to Manchester City, and have only won 1 of the last 5 games played here.
Prediction
It seems that teams may have some sort of idea as to how to defend against Manchester City if you are to take the bare results at face value, but I think the team are creating enough chances to win games, especially when they play in front of their own fans at the Etihad Stadium.
I think Liverpool will try and use the blueprint set out by West Brom and followed by Sunderland in defending deep and hoping to catch City on the counter. I can see Dalglish filling up the midfield and leaving Luis Suarez on his own up front and look for the likes of Gerrard, Downing and Adam to burst from midfield when they do get possession.
Otherwise, I think Liverpool will fill up the middle of the park and dare City to try and break them down from the wings rather than allowing Aguero and Silva to play neat little triangles through the middle.
With that being said, I am expecting a tight battle that could be settled by a bit of magic, something that I think City will have more of than their Liverpool counterparts. The likes of Balotelli and Aguero can create something out of nothing, while Liverpool have found it a little more difficult to score of late and that should give City the edge to increase their winning run at home.
It will be close, but I will back City here.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester City 2-0 Liverpool
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Manchester City -0.75 Asian Handicap @ 2.18 (Pinnacle)
