Mark Lawrenson believes Manchester City have had a ‘much tougher’ buildup to their clash with Liverpool this weekend.
It’s the biggest game of the Premier League season this weekend as Liverpool travel to take on Manchester City. The eventual winner leaves the match as title favourites – but getting that win will be as tough as it gets.
These are the two best teams in the country, after all. They may well be the two best in the world. Both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp need every advantage they can find, then, as they look to strike a devastating title blow.
So with that in mind, did the midweek fixtures work in Liverpool’s favour? The Reds travelled to Portugal and beat Benfica 3-1, while City hosted Atletico Madrid in a narrow 1-0 win.
According to Mark Lawrenson, it’s something that does hand Liverpool a minor advantage going into the game.
“This is the big one,” he said in his prediction for the BBC. “Both teams got good results in the Champions League in midweek, but it was much tougher for City against Atletico Madrid than it was for Liverpool versus Benfica.
“I am expecting a good game because you don’t get anything else with two teams as talented as these, and with the way they both play.
“At different times, one team or the other will be on top – it will just come down to who can take their chances when they come. It will be close, and there will be a few goals.
“I don’t see it as a title decider because there are still seven games to go after this. Whoever wins, the pressure is still on, but I am going for a draw anyway.”
Manchester City v Liverpool
We wrote a few weeks ago that the Champions League games could influence this one. City certainly had a tougher go of things on Tuesday than Liverpool did – but it’s more likely to be the subsequent games that play into thinking.
City need a full-strength XI for the return clash against Atletico. They can’t afford to go into that one at anything under 100% as their lead is so narrow. Diego Simeone’s side will knock them out if they’re subpar.
Will that affect Guardiola’s thinking? Can he afford to go all-out against Liverpool and risk tired players in Madrid?
Liverpool, on the other hand, can feel quite relaxed after their 3-1 win. They’ll see a fairly comfortable game at Anfield against Benfica and Klopp can certainly afford to rest a player or two in that one.
It’s a small advantage for Sunday but they all count. And in a game as big as this, there’s always a chance it’s decisive.
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