Man City vs Liverpool predictions & Premier League tips

Manchester City vs Liverpool predictions: 

Manchester City and Liverpool face off on Saturday lunchtime in a crunch contest at the top of the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium (12:30pm, TNT Sports 1). 

As has been the case for the majority of the past six years, the two clubs are in lockstep in the Premier League entering the showdown. 

City are top of the table by a point ahead of the Reds, so a victory for Jurgen Klopp’s men would seem them leapfrog their rivals. 

Pep Guardiola’s side saw their recent momentum checked before the international break in a 4-4 thriller against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. 

Former City man Cole Palmer’s late penalty earned the Blues a share of the spoils, denying his ex-club the chance to move three points clear at the top.

Liverpool extended their five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford last time out. 

Despite their recent impressive results, Liverpool enter the contest as underdogs with football betting sites as City are favoured to emerge with a vital win. 

The fitness of Erling Haaland could play a key role in the outcome of the game after he suffered an ankle injury during the international break while playing for Norway. His availability could make-or-break City’s hopes of securing three valuable points. 

Matches between these two teams are always stacked with drama, so we’re eagerly anticipating this tense duel. After looking at the Premier League odds, here are our Manchester City vs Liverpool predictions. 

Salah to maintain City hot streak 

Although Haaland leads the Premier League goal chart with 13 goals, Mohamed Salah is hot on his heels with 10 strikes. 

The 31-year-old notched a brace against Brentford before the international break and then proceeded to score four in Egypt’s World Cup qualifying win over Djibouti.  

Salah is firing on all cylinders at the moment, and he will not be a welcome sight for a City defence that conceded four against Chelsea in their last outing. 

Salah always seems to raise the level of his game against Guardiola’s men. 

He was the match-winner for Liverpool in the meeting between the sides at Anfield last season, and scored the opener at the Etihad before City issued an emphatic response in their 4-1 triumph.  

Dating back to the 2019/20 season, Salah has scored six goals in eight Premier League meetings against City. 

After looking at the odds from new betting sites, we’re backing Salah to score any time at the Etihad at 21/10 with BetGoodwin with our first Manchester City vs Liverpool prediction. 

Goals galore at the Etihad Stadium 

Matches between City and Liverpool have been filled with goals in recent years. Since Guardiola and Klopp have faced off in the fixture both teams have not backed down, which has resulted in end-to-end action. 

The outcomes have been fairly balanced in terms of victories, although City have tended to inflict more damage in their triumphs, notably their 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium last season. 

Since Guardiola’s arrival at City in 2016, there have been 20 meetings between the sides in all competitions, which have featured 69 goals. 

There has been only one occasion over the timeframe when a match involving City and Liverpool failed to produce a goal that came in October 2018 at Anfield. 

Last season we were treated to four encounters between the sides which yielded 15 goals.  

Given the talent on the pitch on Saturday, we’ll be disappointed if we don’t get another goal fest, with or without Haaland. City have kept four clean sheets this term, but only one in their last six Premier League games. 

Liverpool have been tight at the back at home, although they have conceded at least once in each of their away games this term. 

So, with our second Manchester City vs Liverpool prediction, we’re backing a high-scoring game featuring over 3.5 goals at 6/5 with Unibet. 

Manchester City vs Liverpool Tip 2: Over 3.5 goals – 6/5 Unibet

A feisty affair in Manchester? 

The rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool has defined the last seven years of the Premier League. 

For what it has produced in goalmouth action, it has lacked the bite of the classic rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and Chelsea and Manchester United in the late 2000s.  

There has only been one red card issued in matches since Klopp and Guardiola have been on the sideline together when Sadio Mane was dismissed in September 2017 in a 5-0 win for City at the Etihad.

The meetings last season were relatively sedate as only 11 yellow cards were brandished in four matches. 

After the two-week international break and the subsequent lack of training time, both teams could be out of rhythm and may hardly be operating at full speed throughout the 90 minutes. 

The card line has been set at 5.5 cards by bet365 and given that all four games last season would have passed underneath this threshold, we’re taking the under with our final Manchester City vs Liverpool prediction at odds of 4/5. 

Manchester City vs Liverpool Tip 3: Under 5.5 cards – 4/5 bet365

Simon Sinclair is an experienced sports journalist, who has written for national publications for football, cricket, NFL and many more. He contributes tips on a wide range of sports for The Independent.