Liverpool v Manchester City Betting Tips
Liverpool can't be crowned Premier League champions this season but they can certainly have a say in who lifts the title. Having taken four points against Arsenal this term, they now meet Manchester City in what is always one of the highlight fixtures of the season. Arne Slot's side produced one of their most impressive displays last weekend to beat Newcastle by a 4-1 scoreline.
The Merseyside outfit were able to come from behind against the Magpies, with Hugo Ekitike producing a quickfire double to turn the game on its head. The Frenchman's burgeoning relationship with Florian Wirtz is a big positive, with Mohamed Salah often showing up against Manchester City and the Egyptian has regularly been a thorn in their side.
Liverpool have stuttered plenty of times at Anfield this term. That includes a 1-1 draw with Burnley in January, with this being one of three occasions where the Reds have been held. They have also suffered a defeat on two occasions, with the Cityzens heading to Anfield in search of a victory that keeps them in the Premier League title hunt.
City have drawn twice and lost four times on the road in the top-flight this term. They recruited Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in January and both have commanded plenty of first-team football already. It's worth noting that the former struck twice for Bournemouth at this ground back in August and could pose problems for opponents who are not strong in the full-back positions.
A high-scoring draw can't be ruled out and you can get decent odds that this clash ends all square. We can see both teams getting on the attack and perhaps serving up a really entertaining encounter. Something along the lines of a 2-2 scoreline can't be ruled out.
Goals Under/Over
It's no surprise that Over 2.5 Goals is trading at big odds-on. The price of 1.61 suggests a 62% chance that we'll see the net bulge at least three times. Although Manchester City put three goals past Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in early November, the previous four encounters between the pair have seen only two goals scored.
Liverpool did the double over their rivals last season by landing 2-0 victories at both grounds. The campaign before saw 1-1 draws take place, although the Reds' recent 4-1 win over Newcastle illustrates that they're starting to hit their stride after a testing campaign where they have often not been at the races.
Thirty-one goals have been scored across eleven City away games meaning an average of nearly three, although much depends on the personnel available. Defensively, the team were missing Ruben Dias and John Stones for a recent trip to Tottenham.
BTTS
The odds for BTTS Yes are trading at 1.53, suggesting a 65% chance that we'll see Liverpool and Manchester City both find the net. The former have scored a fairly modest twenty goals across twelve matches at Anfield this term. However, with Salah back in the fold after his AFCON exploits and Cody Gakpo also flanking the in-form Hugo Ekitike, it's hard to see the Reds drawing a blank against City.
That's especially when you consider that City's away games have seen them concede an average of one per match. However, before Pep Guardiola's side travelled to Tottenham, four of their five previous games had involved a BTTS No outcome. The only BTTS Yes game in that batch was a surprise 3-1 Champions League reverse away to Bodo/Glimt.
It always helps to have the division's top scorer and Erling Haaland will pose a clear threat after already notching twenty in the top flight. Four of the past six Liverpool games have involved a BTTS Yes outcome although they did thrash Qarabag 6-0 without conceding and they also travelled to Marseille in the Champions League to come away with a 3-0 success.
First Goalscorer
Mohamed Salah lasted 84 minutes against Newcastle last weekend, with the Egyptian having previously found the net against Qarabag in the Champions League. He was on target four times for his country during the African Cup of Nations, although his last Premier League goal was at the beginning of November as part of a 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
Since then, the forward has struggled to find the scoring touch for Liverpool and also endured a spat with manager Arne Slot. However, his team-mate Hugo Ekitike could be a more interesting contender. The Frenchman can be deadly as he showed with his brace against Newcastle and now looks to be injury-free and raring to go.
Since a brace during a 3-3 draw at Leeds, the forward has pilfered nine goals since the start of December and it could be worth looking at Florian Wirtz on the assist market. However, there are also lots of leading contenders for City. Rayan Cherki opened the scoring at Tottenham for City and he's a strong operator on the right side of Haaland.
As for Erling Haaland, we can assume he will chip in with more goals as the season progresses although he is sometimes thwarted in this fixture.