Manchester City v Liverpool – Betting Preview
Manchester City Summary
Manchester City has not played in the league since the 11th of March when they defeated Crystal Palace in a 0-1 win in South London.
The narrow but deserved victory against Palace was their third straight win. However, due to Arsenal’s excellent form and the extra game played since then, City is now trailing the North London club by 8 points.
Pep Guardiola’s side still needs to face Arsenal at home but cannot afford to drop any points before then.
And knowing that the leaders have an easier game on paper this round (Arsenal host Leeds), this adds even more pressure on Man City to beat Liverpool in the Saturday morning match.
Despite potentially seismic punishment coming their way because of serious charges for financial misconduct, Manchester City’s mood and focus seems fine on the pitch.
Team news could be negative if Haaland doesn’t recover from a groin problem that saw him pull out of the international games for Norway.
The inform Phil Foden is ill and almost certainly out based on the latest reports.
If both men miss out then it’s a massive reduction to City’s attacking power. Worth waiting and checking lineups for the punter that wants to bet on this contest.
Liverpool Summary
Liverpool fell crashing down to earth with a 1-0 loss to then rock-bottom Bournemouth on the most recent EPL weekend.
Days after that embarrassing setback they then fell out of the UCL without much fight, losing 1-0 to Real Madrid which means a push for 4th is all that remains for them this season.
The defeat in Bournemouth did real damage to the momentum on their bid to capture 4th spot and make the Champions League for next season, something which is vital to building for next season in terms of signing high profile players such as Jude Bellingham.
The extreme high of absolutely humiliating their bitter rivals Man United now seems a long time ago. They need a similar showing here to win and boost hopes of making 4th.
They are 7 points below 4th-placed Spurs but with two games in hand. Their bigger worry is Newcastle who are in 5th and five points ahead of them. Either way, they need a win here to improve their hopes.
Team news-wise, Liverpool has no new or important absences at this stage.
Bajcetić is missing with a muscle injury but the more harmful losses remain the men that are out long term, Thiago and Luiz Diaz.
Luiz Diaz is back in training but a couple of weeks away from being considered match ready.
Betting Analysis
Looking at the 1×2 market first. Man City has some concerning team news and the price will drift if Haaland is out. It is worth perhaps waiting for confirmation on his status for the fullest picture possible, City is @ 1.65 to win.
Liverpool would need to play out of their skin to win the game, but if team news is in their favour, they have a chance @ 5.50. The draw is 4.20.
Moving onto the Asian handicap betting for this contest. City -1 is @ 1.99 which looks fair. The host will want to make this a statement win and put pressure on Arsenal. Liverpool +1 is @ 1.87.
Looking at The Under/Over goal betting last of all. The line is set at 2.5. The Over is @ 1.65 and the Under is @ 2.25.
