Two sides which were at the receiving end of disappointing results in European matches will now go head to head in the Premier League this weekend.

Man City endured a frustrating outing last time out as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Barcelona at home. The Citizens have not been at their supreme best this campaign and their season has been characterised by a fair bit of inconsistency.

The same fixture last time out was hyped as the title decider. But even though Man City suffered a defeat in that match as Coutinho capitalized on a Vincent Kompany mistake to score the winner, the Citizens won the title. However City will this time be hoping to make life easier for themselves by picking a win and reducing the gap at the top of the table, given that Chelsea will not be playing a Premier League match this weekend owing to their commitments in the Capital One Cup. Following our five ways Man City can secure an important win over their counterparts on Sunday.

The returning Yaya Toure

The Ivoirian's importance at the club was highlighted when in his absence Man city managed a victory in just one of their six matches. Upon his return the former Barcelona man made his presence felt as City scored a thumping 5-0 win over Newcastle United.

He was not present during the midweek Champions League game against Barcelona as he served suspension, but City's talismanic midfielder is poised to return to the starting eleven for the big game against Liverpool. Yaya Toure's presence brings a lot of balance to the City midfield which will propel them into producing a better performance than they did against Barca.

In form Sergio Aguero

The Argentinean has scored 23 goals in all competitions this season and has been imperative towards City's success over the years. The former Atletico Madrid man has scored four times in his last three matches and will be hoping to continue his good run.

The 26 year old has often been criticised for being inconsistent but it cannot be argued that when on song he is one of the finest strikers in the world. Should Aguero bring his A game to the match, Liverpool have a mammoth of a task to keep him at bay.

Tired Liverpool legs

Liverpool's  Europa League fixture against Besiktas was carried on till extra time which means that there will be a lot of tired legs when they face Man City. This is something the Citizens can use to their advantage. Players like Jesus Navas and Gael Clichy possess exceptional pace and cause a lot of havoc in the opposition half.

Squad depth

Manuel Pellegrini has a wealth of options to choose from which means that he has the luxury to drop a few people who played during the midweek to the bench. The likes of Wilfried Bony, Bacary Sagna, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Mangala all started from the bench on Tuesday but can be drafted into the starting eleven and are capable of doing their jobs with aplomb. This will ensure that fatigue is not an issue for the side and that they can deal well with the physical aspect of the game.

Closing down the gap at the top

The Citizens have remained second best to Chelsea all season and the match against Liverpool is their chance to close the gap. Chelsea's involvement in the Capital One Cup final means that the Blues will not be playing a Premier League match this weekend, thus should the Citizens win on Sunday they can reduce the gap at the top of the table to just two points.
 

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester City

March 1, 2015 7:00amAnfield (Liverpool)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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