Man City vs Liverpool prediction and odds: Sadio Mane tipped to change Reds title fortunes around
The Premier League title race is set to take a huge turn as two heavyweights meet in a huge six-pointer as Liverpool travel to Eastlands to face league leaders Manchester City. A win will leapfrog the Reds over Pep Guardiola's side to the top of the table for the first time since September.
Jurgen Klopp's side are priced at 12/5 with Betfred while City are the favourites at 21/20 and a draw is 13/5. It was not that long ago City were anticipating an early title win after leading 13-points over the Reds but now they find themselves clinging onto everything they can to keep hold of top spot.
The title race could well go down to the final day of the season if Liverpool get a result but a win is the absolute minimum if they are to go in pole position during the business end of the season. Both sides have favourable run-ins with City facing no one in the top six while Liverpool have Manchester United at home later on this month.
Both sides came out of their European ties as winners with Liverpool looking the more comfortable after their 3-1 win at Benfica while City only managed a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid who played a 5-5-0, according to Kevin De Bruyne. The quadruple is still within reach but the Reds have to address City again this season in the FA Cup so to get the double over them twice in the same month will be a challenge in itself.
Tips
- Sadio Mane to score anytime - 11/4
- Liverpool to win and both teams to score - 5/1
Team stats
Both teams in matches involving Liverpool have scored in 11 from 30 Premier League matches while for City it is 10 from 30. Since 2017, both sides in this fixture have scored in nine out of 13 matches in all competitions. Both teams to score is 4/7.
Liverpool have finished 19 of their Premier League matches with three or more goals while City have finished 15 this way. In their last eight meetings in all competitions, the match has finished under 2.5 goals on just three occasions and only five times since Klopp joined Liverpool. Over 2.5 goals is 4/6.
Players to watch
Where to even begin with this? Liverpool have Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Diogo Jota scoring for fun while City have Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez to name a few. Both teams have scored a combined 147 goals and conceded just 38 goals in the league this season.
But Sadio Mane was clinical against Benfica and will want to add to his Premier League tally of 12 goals with the Senegalese winger scoring four goals in his last seven league outings after winning the African Cup of Nations but has not scored in his last three league matches. He is 11/4 to score anytime which I think is a very generous price.
H2H
This will be the 189th meeting between the two sides with Liverpool picking up 90 wins, 50 draws and 48 losses in all competitions against City. In the league, this will be the 172nd meeting between the two sides with the Reds picking up 82 wins, 44 draws and 45 defeats.
This will be the 23rd match Klopp has faced Guardiola which is more than any other manager in his career. Over the 22 matches, both managers have picked up nine wins each and four draws with the majority of Klopp's coming as Liverpool manager (five) but has only picked up one win in the last eight meetings. The Reds are yet to win at the Etihad Stadium under Klopp in the Premier League.
Gamble responsibly
Everyone at The Inside Track and Reach are committed to promoting safer gambling. All of our content and recommended bets are advised to those aged 18 or over.
We strongly encourage our readers to only ever bet what they can afford to lose. For more information, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit begambleaware.org.
