As far as title deciders go, the game at Anfield might just come too early to be quite so decisive. For Liverpool, though, it’s an opportunity to get ahead of Manchester City and set the early pace for the season. City done a similar thing last year to Manchester United, defeating them at Old Trafford to put paid to any plans of a title challenge in Manchester.

Can Liverpool recover from a challenging week to take City to the cleaners? Or will City finally make amends to their shocking record at Anfield?

Liverpool News

With the Reds due to go and play Napoli in Naples, there is a good chance that they’ll come back slightly more tired than City. With a day less to prepare and a more challenging foe on paper in midweek, this match will be a test of their title credentials as much as anything else. For that reason, there’s ample optimism around the ground that Liverpool will rise to the occasion – especially with a squad that is getting ever-closer to full fitness.

Expect Daniel Sturridge to miss out in favour of the effervescent front three Liverpool deploy in big games.

Manchester City News

For City, a late win against Hoffenheim will put them in a great mood for this most daunting of trips. With Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero on 9 goals between them, and with Aguero in particular adept at scoring against Liverpool, the Citizens arrive as confident as they could be.

After the shellacking they received at Anfield in January and in the Champions League, though, there is likely to be at least some doubt in the players. For City, the main challenge isn’t so much the line-up, but getting over their long-term recipe for disaster when coming to Merseyside.

Verdict

We can see a home win coming here; both side are among the best in the country, if not the world, but Liverpool are exceptional at home. So long as they can avoid periods of extensive pressure, and keep the ball better than they did at times against Chelsea, there is no reason why Liverpool cannot get a season-defining win.