English Premier
2026-02-08 - Liverpool vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 8th February 2025 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Liverpool
Arne Slot continues to ignore the pressure that has reportedly been around him for months as manager of Liverpool and the 4-1 win over Newcastle United last weekend keeps the team on track to achieve minimum expectations. Missing out on the Champions League would be a huge blow for the defending English Champions, but Liverpool will believe this squad is more than good enough for a top five finish in the Division.
They are 6th in the Premier League standings and Liverpool remain in touch with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in positions above them, although they do play last this weekend. It is going to be an important game for Liverpool who have a 7-3-2 record at Anfield in the Premier League following the victory a week ago.
Liverpool have only lost 1 of the last 16 games in all competitions and they will go into this fixture having won 3 of the last 4. They are also unbeaten in 8 games at Anfield in all competitions and Liverpool's win over Newcastle United means they have won 5 of those matches to build some positive momentum.
Joe Gomez could be available, but Jeremie Frimpong is likely going to miss the next couple of Premier League games.
Manchester City
New signings have arrived in the January transfer window in a bid to give Manchester City a spark, but they have continued to throw away winning positions in the Premier League. It was more of the same last Sunday as Manchester City failed to hold onto a 0-2 lead at Tottenham Hotspur, although manager Pep Guardiola and midfielder Rodri were highly critical of what they felt were some poor decisions made to allow Spurs back into the fixture.
Two more dropped points means Manchester City are 2nd in the Premier League table and 6 points behind leaders Arsenal, who will play first this weekend and will be expected to have beaten Sunderland at home. That will build more pressure on Manchester City who now have a couple of Premier League games to play before The Gunners get back onto the field. The side have a 5-3-4 record away from home in the top flight where Manchester City have scored 20 goals, but also conceded 15.
Manchester City beat Newcastle United on Wednesday and they are now unbeaten in 4 games in all competitions and have won 3 of those. However, the draw at Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday means Manchester City have won 1 of the last 6 Premier League fixtures played. It is also a result that has left Manchester City with a single away win from the last 5 played on their travels in all competitions, and the side have lost twice in that run.
John Stones and Jeremy Doku are expected back in action later this month, while Bernardo Silva is a doubt. Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Rodri, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland could all be recalled for this game.
Head to Head
An early Penalty miss from Erling Haaland did nothing to distract Manchester City who still ran away 3-0 home winners against Liverpool in November.
Liverpool did the Premier League double over Manchester City last season and they are unbeaten in 4 at Anfield against this opponent with half of those ending in home wins.
Prediction
The last Premier League fixture of the weekend comes from Anfield and it looks a really difficult one to judge.
Both Liverpool and Manchester City have flashed at times, but there have been plenty of other occasions over the last five weeks where they have flattered to deceive.
Underlying that point is the fact that Manchester City have won just 1 of the last 5 away games in all competitions and were really poor in losses at Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt.
They have struggled to put a full performance in for a number of weeks and were punished for that in the 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur having been dominant in the first half, but struggled badly in the second.
Liverpool did win convincingly at home last weekend, but this is also a team that have recently been held to the draws by the likes of Burnley and Leeds United at Anfield.
Both teams have won 3 of the last 4 games in all competitions, but it is hard to say that Liverpool or Manchester City have been convincing in those matches.
Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola will want to see their team dominate the fixture and get on the front foot and that should make it an entertaining affair. There is a feeling that both believe the teams they have are in some sort of transition, especially adjusting to the new tactics of the Premier League, but this is a fixture that should suit both managers a bit more than others faced.
The first goal is likely going to be really important, but the attacking players on either side will believe in their quality to create more opportunities if needed.
Angles that were assessed were backing either Liverpool or Manchester City to win a half- these teams have not been good consistently for ninety minutes, but they have shown the quality to dominate long periods of a half and they are capable of scoring the goals to have a lead at half time or to fight back if trailing, but the layers have priced both pretty short to do that.
Goals are expected to be the order of the day with the issues that both have had in defence and with the attacking players that are available this Sunday.
Backing two of them- one from each side- to have a Shot on Target brings up a decent price and could be worth chancing.
Hugo Ekitike has been plenty confident leading the line for Liverpool in the absence of Alexander Isak and he has been taking plenty of shots over the last four games, while scoring twice last week.
Coupling him up with Rayan Cherki of Manchester City to do the same brings up a healthy price with the Frenchman taking over from Phil Foden as a key attacking threat. He has averaged more shots per game than Antoine Semenyo and putting those two players together brings up a decent price in what looks to be a tough game to call.
If either does not start, the bet will be settled by individual prices (Ekitike is 1.53 for a Shot on Target and Cherki is 2.10)
If both don't start, the recommendation would be to back over 2.5 goals, which is priced up at 1.59 with Cloudbet.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City
