Liverpool vs Manchester City Match Preview

Champions League | Preview

04/04/18

Liverpool vs Manchester City Match Preview

The Champions League picks up where it left off last month as we are now down to the Quarter-final stage with eight teams aiming to be the kings of Europe come the end of May.

The previous round had five English clubs in contention of continental glory but now we are down to just two.

With those two clubs being paired together it does mean that there will be a Premier League representative in the Semi-finals, but the question is who will it be out of Liverpool or Manchester City?

The latter may well only be one win away from adding the league title to their Carabao Cup success, something that they can secure this weekend should they get the better of the cross-town rivals Manchester United at the Etihad.

But they will not be happy with just domestic dominance this season, the football that Pep Guardiola’s superstar squad has been playing during this campaign rightly has them touted as one of if not the best side in Europe.

So, the challenge for City is whether they can live up to the praise that has been lauded on them by just about everyone in the footballing world or will it be a case of their opponents Liverpool spoiling the party once more.

Earlier in the campaign it was looking likely that the runaway league leaders could repeat the feat that Arsenal achieved back in 2004 when they went a whole season unbeaten and in turn earned the title of “The Invincibles”

However, in a stunning game at Anfield, they saw their unbeaten streak come to an end as Liverpool’s brand of “heavy metal football” was to much for City to handle as the Merseyside outfit came out on top by four goals to three.

That was a score line that not only saw Liverpool claim something of a scalp and in turn help their prospects of a top four finish, but it also went a long way to exacting some revenge for the heavy defeat they suffered in the reverse fixture back in September 2017.

City ran out 5-0 winners in a game that saw Sadio Mane sent off after referee John Moss adjudged that the Senegalese forward showed a high boot in the face off Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, it may not have been intentional, but it was certainly reckless and for that he had to be shown a red card.

That means the two clubs are at one win each this season as we move into this two-legged encounter which will take place over the course of this week and next. The pair of league fixtures have seen plenty of goals, however this could be a different proposition.

You cannot win a tie of this kind in the first leg, but you can certainly lose it, something that both Porto and Basel are aware of after the heavy thrashings that they were dealt in the previous round by Liverpool and Manchester City respectively.

Therefore, there might be a slightly more cautious approach from either side, although City will of course be confident that they can get an away goal and put them in an advantageous position going into the return leg.

Liverpool will be confident of getting a result especially after putting Pep Guardiola’s men to the sword earlier in the campaign. Manchester City will have that fresh in their minds also and as a result, both teams could finish in a high scoring draw, leaving it all to play for next Tuesday.