Liverpool v Man City Tip

It’s easy to look at the weekend’s football and conclude that Manchester City now have all the momentum heading into this second leg at Anfield. They won in the 94th minute against Tottenham while Liverpool surrendered meekly to Bolton Wanderers. But Kenny Dalglish fired a stinging warning to his players following the abject performance at the Reebok: “If that’s the level they expect this football club to play at, they won’t be here long.”

I think we can expect a big response from the Reds. Remarkably, the 1-0 advantage from the first leg puts them on the cusp of a trip to Wembley for the first time since 1996. That’s an awfully long time for a club of Liverpool’s stature, only partially explained by the use of the Millennium Stadium in the early 2000s. The Kop will be on top form on Wednesday night and that should inspire the hosts to a further victory at best odds of 7/4 (WilliamHill).

Man City, frankly, were fortunate to triumph on Sunday and they continue to look undermined by the absence of key personnel. Vincent Kompany is still suspended, the Toures remain in Africa and now Mario Balotelli will miss out unless the visitors decide to appeal his misconduct charge at the last minute.

I fully expect Craig Bellamy to give Kompany’s stand-in Stefan Savic another uncomfortable evening; even Andy Carroll had some joy against the Montenegrin at the Etihad. I’ve been saying for a while that Liverpool are looking like an excellent Cup side despite their travails in the league. Now is the time to prove it once and for all.