For Liverpool and Manchester City fans, this game could not have come at a more crucial time. Both sides will be coming into this clash off the back of losses in Europe. After disappointment in the Champions League, the Reds had pinned their hopes of continental glory on the Europa League, only to see their campaign end in heart-breaking fashion as they were dumped out of the round of 32 by Turkish side Besiktas. Meanwhile, the Citizens are still in the Champions League, but will face an uphill battle after losing 2-1 to Barcelona at home in their round of 16 first leg.
The last meeting between these two sides in league play at Anfield ended as a 3-2 win for Liverpool, but an awful slip-up (no pun intended) against Chelsea effectively re-opened the door for City to clinch their second league title in three years. Still, the visitors have not had much luck whilst visiting Liverpool's home ground, with their last win coming back in May 2003 and in fact, they have lost seven out of their last 11 visits to Anfield.
However, all in all, Liverpool's record against Manchester City is not that great. The Reds have won just two out of their last 12 meetings (both home and away), with the other ten games being split between six draws and four losses. Additionally, the visitors have scored at least two goals in their last five Premier League meetings against the hosts, which includes the 3-2 match back in April.
A win for Brendan Rodgers' men would move them ahead of Southampton with 48 points and neck-and-neck with Arsenal, who occupies that last Champions League spot.
Here's how the table looks ahead of the big game between Liverpool and Manchester City
Meanwhile, should Manuel Pellegrini's side earn a long-sought after victory at the Reds' home base, they would move to just two points behind Chelsea, who will be out of Premier League action as they have the Capital One Cup Final to contest with Tottenham. They will definitely be pleased with the return of midfield enforcer Yaya Toure from his ban and are quite fortunate that they do not have a whole host of injuries to really worry about.
The same, unfortunately can not be said for Liverpool. Despite being unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League games, Rodgers will be concerned about the fitness of several key players, including iconic captain Steven Gerrard, who is suffering from a hamstring injury, as well as defender Mamadou Sakho and midfielder Jordan Henderson, who are battling with hip and ankle ailments respectively. He will, nonetheless, welcome back Philippe Coutinho, who was rested mid-week as well as Lazar Markovic after the Serbian international has now served out his suspension.
Both sides will certainly be going for all three points to get back on track after their respective mid-week failures, and as such, it will be an interesting 90+ minutes of action for both fans and neutrals alike.
Liverpool vs Manchester City team sheets
Liverpool's First XI: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Henderson, Allen, Moreno, Markovic, Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling
Liverpool's bench: Ward, Toure, Lambert, Sturridge, Borini, Balotelli, Williams
Manchester City's First XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Mangala, Kompany, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Silva, Nasri, Dzeko, Aguero.
Manchester City's bench: Caballero, Demichelis, Clichy, Lampard, Bony, Milner, Fernando.
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