Man City v Liverpool predictions and betting tips

Where to watch Man City v Liverpool

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Man City to win & both teams to score
1pt 21-10 bet365

Over 3.5 Liverpool shots on target
2pts 6-5 bet365

Man City v Liverpool odds

Man City 13-20
Liverpool 9-2
Draw 16-5

Odds correct at time of publishing

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Man City v Liverpool team news

Man City
Phil Foden and Erling Haaland are missing for the champions.

Liverpool
Luis Diaz is back in training. Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara are out, Darwin Nunez is a doubt and Stefan Bajcetic is out for the season.

Man City v Liverpool predictions

Back Liverpool to go down swinging as their chase for a Champions League place suffers a likely setback at The Etihad.

City are rock-solid favourites to see off their rivals even amid speculation that 42-goal Erling Haaland will not be involved.

The Norwegian's groin problem has been the hottest topic in town as the clock ticks down to a fixture which has major ramifications for both clubs in their very different quests between now and the end of season.

And if Haaland doesn't make it then that's a major weapon missing from the City armoury, especically with Phil Foden also a non-runner.

There are many who think that even without Haaland in the opposition ranks it would be hard to have too much faith in a Liverpool side who have been beaten seven times on their travels in the Premier League, most recently 1-0 at second-bottom Bournemouth.

On the flip side, two of their three road wins have come against Tottenham and Newcastle, the two sides they need to overhaul to get into the top four.

And their record against the five clubs above them makes for impressive reading – played seven, won five, scored 17. And that includes a 1-0 win over City at Anfield in October.

You don't need to cast your mind back far to remember seeing Liverpool produce the type of rip-roaring masterclass which used to be ten a penny, when they smacked seven past Manchester United.

Klopp's side will clearly see less of the ball at The Etihad than they would normally but they will create chances – they are too forward-thinking not to.

They average 5.9 shots on target per game this season, mostly against lesser opposition, inevitably. But it's 6-5 that they conjure up four or more, and with the pace they pose on the counter plus threat from set-plays it's well within their range.

Getting shots away is one thing but they're going to have to make a few count because it's hard not to see City scoring.

They haven't failed to find the net in a league home game in 18 months, scoring two or more in 23 of 27 games since that last blank.

When they do struggle to score many it's against teams who set up to be hard to break down. That, however, is not Liverpool's strong suit.

Liverpool could pull off a surprise but it would be a massive surprise, and seeing Julian Alvarez leading the line rather than Haaland would undoubtedly give them a lift.

But these sides look some distance apart right now and backing City to win well is probably the sensible play.

Key stat

City have found the net in each of their last 27 home Premier League games, and scored at least two in 23 of those

Probable teams

Man City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Alvarez, Grealish.
Subs: Stones, Laporte, Lewis, Gomez, Phillips, Gundogan, Palmer, Perrone

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Milner; Salah, Gakpo, Jota.
Subs: Matip, Tsimikas, Jones, Elliott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carvalho, Firmino, Nunez