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The return to Premier League action kicks off with a Manchester City v Liverpool spectacle, and we have plenty of football tips and betting predictions to celebrate. Before you dive into our experts’ analysis of the recent meetings between England’s current top two sides, make sure you’re getting the most for your money by checking out our selection of free bet offers and the latest bookmaker offers.

As always, there is a huge range of expert predictions across our site, and if you’re just as excited as us for the return of the Premier League, make sure you visit our Premier League accumulator tips or our bet builder stats for this weekend’s fixtures.

Manchester City v Liverpool

The return to Premier League action following the conclusion of the final international break of 2023, treats us to another potential spectacle between Manchester City and Liverpool as the Premier League’s top two sides meet for the first time this season. 

Manchester City perch at the top of the table after collecting ten points from 12 after a thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago. Pep’s side took the lead three times in that game only to be pegged back over and over by a relentless Chelsea side. Cole Palmer stepped up in the dying moments of the game and slotted home the equaliser – truly poetic. With only a point between City and Liverpool and Arsenal, there’s certainly a bit of pressure for Man City to clean up here and spoil the Reds’ hopes of regaining top spot in the Premier League. 

Liverpool have only seen defeat once this season at the hands of Tottenham in September and have since extended an unbeaten run of their own. Since that defeat, Liverpool have won three and drawn two of their last five. A really positive run for Klopp’s side who are determined to show that last year was just a slight dip in the redbrick road after some incredible consistency over the last five seasons. 

This fixture has always had a love for goals and has delivered some of the best quality English football in years. There have been only two clean sheets in the last ten meetings of these two English giants, coming during Liverpool’s hard-fought 1-0 victory last season and back in 2020 with a 4-0 win for Manchester City. There have been at least three goals scored in 14 of the last 18 meetings between these sides and both teams have been on red-hot form in front of goal this year – Man City have the most prolific attack in the league with Liverpool shortly behind in third spot. 

Speaking of goals, Liverpool are one of only two teams in the Premier League that Erling Haaland hasn’t scored against, Brentford the only other side to share that privilege – or potential burden. The Norwegian remains the most ferocious striker in the Premier League with 13 goals from 27 shots on target so Liverpool would be ignorant to let the past distract them here. On the contrary, Mo Salah certainly loves outings against the Citizens, scoring seven goals in 12 Premier League appearances against the hosts – fantasy football managers will certainly be excited about this matchup. 

We have delved deeper into the last two times these teams have faced off at the Etihad to find any clues for some interesting betting and player prop angles. Let’s hope for some more thrilling entertainment on Saturday. 

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2️⃣ The Last Two: Manchester City v Liverpool

Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool, Date: 1st April 2023: Super Jacky Grealish

Manchester City maintained the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal by shrugging off the absence of the injured Erling Haaland to outclass Liverpool with a magnificent display at the Etihad Stadium, shrinking the gap between the top two down to five points. 

Pep Guardiola’s side came from a goal down after a clever counter-attack from Diogo Jota, who slotted the ball gently into Salah who smashed the ball into the back of the net. However, in true footballing style, Salah saw his glory tarnished just ten minutes later as Jack Grealish crucially stole the ball from the Egyptian and delivered an outstanding cross for Julian Alvarez to equalise. The English winger later added his side’s fourth goal, giving the scoreline a more accurate reflection of City’s supremacy over Liverpool. Grealish received a standing ovation upon his substitution in the last few moments of the game, a performance of the highest class.

Jack Grealish has more Premier League goal involvements against Liverpool than he does any other opponent, registering 3 goals and 4 assists. If he can find a place in the City side this weekend, perhaps he’ll be a player to keep an eye on.

The quality of play from both sides was a true testament to the dominance they have shown over the last few seasons, but as tempers flared, controversy soon took centre stage, as Rodri survived a second yellow card in the 35th minute when bringing down Cody Gakpo on the break. A controversial decision that no doubt preserved the dominant midfield dynamic Man City had established early on, a very fortunate escape for the soon-to-be treble winners.

Rodri has seen two yellows in eight Premier League games against Liverpool and has maintained his strong defensive stats so far this season. Having picked up four yellows and making an average of 1.65 fouls per 90 minutes, the Spaniard could certainly find himself in a tussle on Saturday with a Liverpool midfield that’s also enjoying some scraps.

Liverpool managed to score from their single shot on target during the match but not many other positives could have been drawn from their performance. Man City were truly relentless, having 17 shots on goals forcing a whopping eight saves from Allison, and they had seven corners to Liverpool’s one. After 12 games played so far this season, both Liverpool and Man City average 6.67 corners per match in the Premier League, with only Arsenal and Manchester United averaging more, so perhaps we can expect the corner game in this fixture to play out similarly to the matchup in April.

Five of the last six encounters between these sides have ended up with both teams scoring, with those games also seeing over 2 goals. This trend has continued this season with Man City’s previous six games across all competitions seeing at least three goals and 5 of the last 6 for Liverpool have seen the same trend. This matchup certainly won’t be starved of goals from both sides.

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Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool, Date: 10th April 2022: A huge clash in the title race

A huge fixture in the title race during the 2021/22 season where top spot Man City were able to maintain their slender one-point advantage ahead of title rivals Liverpool going into the last seven games of the season. 

The meeting between the two outstanding sides lived up to all the pre-match hype and in the end, there was nothing to separate them. This was never going to be branded as a title decider as there’s always potential for twists and turns in the tales of the run into the end of the season, but either side would have cherished that win as if it was. 

Guardiola’s side dominated the first 45 minutes, boasting a collection of great chances but they were unable to convert them. Going into half-time 2-1 down could certainly have been viewed as a let-off for Liverpool, but they also showed some bouts of class, be it they were slightly rarer than their hosts. Kevin de Bruyne was exquisite throughout the 90 minutes and his absence from this weekend’s game is definitely a comforting thought for Liverpool fans.

Liverpool started the second half very sharply, quickly capitalising on a sleepy Man City defence and Sadio Mane equalised in the 47th minute after a perfect pass from Salah. Salah has 7 goals and 3 assists in 12 Premier League games against Man City, perhaps a goal or assist market for the Egyptian could provide value on Saturday. 

Liverpool came into this fixture on the back of an impressive 10 straight league wins and a club record eight successive away wins across all competitions, of course, it would be their title rivals to terminate that run. Man City go into this weekend’s game boasting an incredible 23 home game winning streak across all competitions dating back to December 2022, way before the thoughts of the treble brewed in their minds. Could Liverpool grab revenge here on the current league leaders? Both situations have very striking similarities…

The importance of this fixture was certainly reflected in the disciplinary area, with 5 yellows being shown with Liverpool picking up 4 of them, from 11 total fouls. The only player who received a booking in the 2022 fixture that is available for this weekend’s matchup is Virgil van Dijk, but this fixture is infamous for foul numbers. Liverpool have committed at least 10 fouls against Man City in their last 5 Premier League meetings, perhaps another market to target for Saturday’s game.

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