Big Premier League title clash difficult to predict

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers and City counterpart Manuel Pellegrini will be looking for victory in Sunday’s big Premier League clash

In the last week so many people have been talking about Sunday’s Premier League game between Liverpool and Manchester City.

The game at Anfield will not decide necessarily decide the title, but it will play a major part in the title race.

The big question people have been asking is what the outcome will be and to be honest it is a very difficult one to predict.

Attacking

This game will see the Premier League’s top two scoring teams going head-to-head. Both play attacking football and look to attack no matter whom or where they are playing.

Manchester City may have to rein in their attacking style just a bit at Anfield, because they could easily get picked-off on the counter-attack.

Liverpool are the top scorers in the Premier League this season, but needed two Steven Gerrard penalties to defeat West Ham in their last outing. No doubt Luis Suarez and co. will be back to their sparkling best in this one.

Defence

Manchester City’s defence has improved immensely over the last couple of months. At the start of the season doubts over the form of keeper Joe Hart really affected the City backline and they were conceding goals at an alarming rate.

Even the much-maligned Martin Demichelis has been putting in solid performances at the heart of that Citizens defence of late. The men from Manchester now have the second best defence in the top-flight, with only Chelsea having conceded fewer goals than Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

It is a difficult balancing act trying to play attacking football and still be solid, but at the moment City are doing just that.

Liverpool on the other hand have not quite mastered the art and have conceded 11 more goals than City in the top-flight this season. However, their failings in defence have not matter because of their attacking prowess.

I am Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is aware of his team’s defensive flaws and will look to shore up that backline in the summer, whether the Reds claim the Premier League title or not.

Momentum

Liverpool have fantastic momentum going into this game and are looking for their tenth consecutive top-flight victory. That would be some achievement for the Reds. Momentum is a major factor when it comes to this point of the season.

Momentum can win titles or save teams from relegation. City’s form in recent weeks has been decent, but the 1-1 draw at Arsenal curtailed the momentum that Pellegrini’s men had from winning three consecutive games.

City got back on track with a 4-1 win over Southampton last weekend, but the momentum is definitely with the home side in this one. The Citizens will know that this could be their toughest league game of the season with the Reds in confident mood.

Draw

The most obvious conclusion to make from all the facts and figures is that this game will probably end in a draw, which would be a better result for City than it would Liverpool. City have the ability to win at any ground, as they proved earlier this season by winning 3-2 at European champions Bayern Munich.

The Citizens will also have top scorer Sergio Aguero back in their side after the Argentine returned to training. This may be City’s toughest league game of the season, but it could also be Liverpool’s. The pressure is now on the Reds to deliver their first title in over two decades.

Most of these Liverpool players have not been in this position before, but City players have so they may just have the psychological edge in the title race.

I have to admit I do believe this game will probably finish in a draw. I think the two teams are likely to cancel each other out.

Massive

With so few games remaining this game is a massive one in the title race. As I have previously said the game may not be a title decider, with more games to come, but a win for either side will definitely tip the balance in their favour and that really cannot be underestimated at this late stage of the campaign.

Who will come out on top between City and Liverpool?