Manchester City v Liverpool Betting Markets
Manchester City haven't always been a trustworthy team to back at odds-on this season. They have failed to win four home matches in the Premier League and recent form has been mixed. Pep Guardiola engineered a Carabao Cup success against Arsenal in the last game to land this piece of silverware. However, this came after just one win in the previous five encounters.
That included being beaten home and away by Real Madrid when suffering an aggregate 5-1 defeat against Los Merengues. We also saw Nottingham Forest claim a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium and fellow relegation battlers West Ham were able to draw 1-1 against a team who are losing out in their title quest against Arsenal.
On the flip side, City have won eleven of their fifteen EPL home matches this term and the Manchester side have already beaten Liverpool home and away this term. There was a straightforward 3-0 success against the Reds back in November which came before a more dramatic 2-1 victory at Anfield where two late goals swung the balance in their favour.
The odds of 1.75 about Manchester City suggest that they have a 57% chance of recording a normal time win. There will be plenty of takers at these odds and several accumulators which will include the home victory here. However, Liverpool will have also enjoyed lots of preparation time and will feel that they can give a good account of themselves.
The visitors are trading at around the 3/1 mark to claim the spoils, suggesting a roughly 25% chance that Arne Slot's side can secure a victory. It's perfectly possible that they can take the clash into extra-time but it's worth noting one thing. Namely that Liverpool are still in the Champions League and will have one eye on a clash with Paris Saint-Germain a few days later.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals has been the outcome in the previous two clashes between Manchester City and Liverpool this season. City won 3-0 at the Etihad before a 2-1 success at Anfield. However, the scoreline was 1-0 going into the final few minutes in the latter clash and perhaps this won't be the goalfest that is being projected by the bookmakers.
Preparation for both sides will have been hindered by players on international duty and that could lead to a disjointed performance from either team. It's also worth noting that the previous four exchanges between City and Reds resulted in Under 2.5 Goals. All of them featured exactly two goals being scored instead.
Therefore, we wouldn't go too crazy about a high-scoring affair, with City only beating Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley. Defensively, they were largely solid to nullify the Gunners and they did also land a clean sheet at home to Liverpool in the Premier League affair this season.
BTTS
It comes as little surprise that the BTTS Yes odds are trading short, with the 1.53 implying that there's a 65% chance of both teams finding the net here. Unlike the previous two meetings this season, this is a one-off tie which has to be decided on the day. Therefore, this could lend itself to a more open clash where the respective attacks are able to score at least one goal.
It's very likely that City will be on the scoresheet considering it's pretty rare that they draw a blank at the Etihad Stadium. They scored three times against Liverpool a few months ago, with Antoine Semenyo in excellent form and Rayan Cherki was also sublime at Wembley, with Erling Haaland no stranger to being on the scoresheet against the Reds.
In the past seventeen games, Liverpool have failed to find the net only once. That was in Istanbul when facing Galatasaray in a two-legged Champions League clash although they were then able to score four times against the same Turkish opponents. More recently, they bagged what would be a consolation goal at Brighton as part of a 2-1 defeat.
First Goalscorer
In a recent 4-0 home win against Galatasaray, there were four different scorers and the first two names are probably the best option on this market for Liverpool. Dominik Szoboszlai has been the team's player of the season and the Hungarian has prowess from set pieces as he has demonstrated on a consistent basis this term.
Hugo Etitike has the pace to trouble any opposition defence and is likely to stretch the Manchester City rearguard, with Mohamed Salah potentially rested for this match considering that the Paris Saint-Germain clash is perhaps the bigger priority game for Arne Slot.
It was Nico O'Reilly who was at the double at Wembley and the young defender is starting to get among the goals on a more consistent basis. He scored twice against Newcastle in a Premier League encounter in late February and will clearly pose a threat from his runs. However, Antoine Semenyo has been a good anytime scorer pick since making the switch from Bournemouth.
The Ghanaian has missed the target in the past few matches but previously scored seven goals across twelve matches and we might expect him to start finding the net on a more regular basis again.