Manchester City vs. Liverpool FC
Sunday, February 21, 2010 – 4:00 pm (CET)
The match to watch this weekend will be Sunday’s “Battle for 4th Place” between Manchester City and Liverpool FC. The two teams are separated by a single point, with City ahead by only a slight margin. The Citizens have a game in hand and will need to exploit this opportunity to capitalize as their recent performances have not been very convincing. Liverpool’s form has improved and with Rafa’s job on the line, don’t expect him to hold anything back.
The City of Manchester Stadium is hardly a fortress as the home side have failed to win except once in their past 7 matches there. The visitors definitely have the head-to-head advantage as City have not been able to beat their local rivals in the last nine times these teams have clashed. Expect caution from both managers as they realize how important this match could be for next year’s European hopes.
Match details:
Manchester City vs Liverpool F.C.
Sunday, February 21, 2010 – 4:00 PM (CET)
27th match day
City of Manchester Stadium – Manchester
Probable squads:
>> Manchester City:
Given – Richards, Toure, Lescott, Garrido – Barry, de Jong, Vieria, Wright-Phillips – Adebayor, Tevez
>> Liverpool FC:
Reina – Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Agger, Insua – Lucas, Gerrard, Mascherano – Kuyt, N’Gog, Rodriguez
Current table:
| # | Team | Games | V | D | L | Goals | Diff. | Points |
| 4 | Manchester City | 25 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 48-33 | 15 | 45 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 43-27 | 16 | 44 |
Head-to-Head in Premier League:
| Date | Match | Result |
| 09-11-21 | Liverpool – Manchester City | 2-2 |
| 09-02-22 | Liverpool – Manchester City | 1-1 |
| 08-10-05 | Manchester City – Liverpool | 2-3 |
| 08-05-04 | Liverpool – Manchester City | 1-0 |
| 07-12-30 | Manchester City – Liverpool | 0-0 |
| 07-04-14 | Manchester City – Liverpool | 0-0 |
| 06-11-25 | Liverpool – Manchester City | 1-0 |
Summary:
Manchester City have been struggling lately, but with the return of Carlos Tevez they may be able to get 3 points from the Reds.
Liverpool’s form has improved and only conceding a single goal last week at the Emirates shows just how well their defense has been playing.
Both managers realize the importance of this match to their European hopes and will both start out the match with caution. A goal could open the match up but history has shown this match-up to be a rather tight affair. The combination of Liverpool’s defense and City’s recent impotence in the scoring department may indicate a lack of goals.
Prediction: Under 2.5 Goals