10th Jan 2012 | Football
Man City v Liverpool Tip
The Reds will have targeted this competition as a great opportunity for silverware. They have Gerrard back, while City are missing several key men.
Manchester City is a club suddenly finding itself weakened by injury, suspension and international commitments, while Liverpool are getting close to full strength. With this shift occurring, I think a good bet looks to be Liverpool to win in the ‘draw no bet’ market; at best odds of 15/8 (StanJames), we get our money back if the first leg ends level.
Mancini is feeling the heat as a few things aren’t going City’s way just lately. The 3-2 home defeat to bitter rivals United was a bitter pill to swallow, but the boss will be further incensed that Vincent Kompany’s four-match ban has been upheld following his sending off on Sunday.
The loss of the captain for the visit of Liverpool looks significant when you consider that the Toure brothers are off in Africa and a few other key names are doubts. Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and David Silva are all said to be struggling. In contrast, Liverpool look poised to give their captain Steven Gerrard a starting role after he successfully completed 90 minutes in the 5-1 win over Oldham.
The Reds have had an extra 48 hours to recover after that Friday night match and Dalglish has the option of freshening things up by restoring Agger, Enrique, Johnson or Skrtel, who were all rested for the FA Cup.
Admittedly the visitors lost 3-0 to City only last week in the league, but that was hardly a fair reflection of the game as a whole. Besides, a trip to the Etihad should hold little fear to a Liverpool side who won at Stamford Bridge in the last round. The Merseysiders look like a decent Cup side whereas the hosts surely have bigger fish to fry in the league. A minor upset could be on the cards here.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 17:11 10th Jan, 2012 but subject to change
