Lee Dixon: Man City desperately need to win against Liverpool to stay in touch with Manchester United

Jamie Carragher put in an inspired performance against Arsenal

Lee Dixon thinks it's imperative for Manchester City to win at home to Liverpool after two dropped points against QPR.

Man City v Liverpool
Sun 3rd Feb, 4pm, Live on Sky Sports 1

In what was a great game at the Emirates earlier in the week, Liverpool played very well in spells against a dynamic Arsenal team and on another day could have emerged with three points. Jamie Carragher rolled back the years, putting in a magnificent performance at the back and although Liverpool conceded a lot of space and chances at the back in the second half, mainly due to the pace of Theo Walcott, Brendan Rodgers will be reasonably encouraged. Although his level of performance was extremely high against Arsenal, two games in four days may be a bit too much to ask of Carragher at the age of 35, so the manager will have a decision to make on whether to play the veteran again on Sunday. His experience could be valuable, but City's movement is breathtaking at times and could be difficult for him to deal with.

This is a really important game for Manchester City when we consider that United should win fairly easily at Fulham. Mancini's men can simply not afford to let that gap at the top get any bigger than the current seven points. The draw against QPR was two points dropped as far as Mancini will be concerned, and although they're a team fighting for their lives, those are the sort of games City need to ruthlessly win if they want to defend their title this season.

So, all of that points to City being desperate to record another win and put the pressure onto United and I think they'll do it, but only just. Despite being slightly off the pace in their quest for the title, Man City have now recorded six clean sheets in a row and haven't conceded a single goal in January. Based on how Liverpool struggled with Arsenal's movement in the week I can see them having the same issues with City and for that reason I think they'll come out on top. That said, Liverpool are in decent form themselves so I can't imagine them letting City have it all their own way.

I very much like the look of backing Draw/Man City in the Half Time/Full Time market. That's currently trading at 5.79/2 and looks the best bet given that I can see City nicking this 1-0 10.09/1 or 2-0 11.5n/a late on. It'll be a fascinating encounter because as well as City needing the win, Liverpool now have serious ambitions of challenging for a top four position and their fans will be expecting a performance. They could potentially close the gap to four points themselves if they can record a famous win, but that will be a very difficult task indeed; City have only lost one Premier League game at home all season and have also conceded just nine goals.

Recommended Bets
Draw/Man City in the Half Time/Full time market @ 5.79/2
Man City to win 1-0 in the Correct Score market @ 10.09/1

The Tactical View: Michael Cox

Brendan Rodgers' side are improving, but remain inconsistent and will have significant problems coping with Manchester City's forwards. The movement of Carlos Tevez in behind Sergio Aguero will probably cause problems - Lucas Leiva hasn't been the same player since his return from injury, and I thought Liverpool were fortunate to concede only twice against Arsenal in midweek. But six clean sheets in a row for City is the major statistic to consider here - and it makes 3.2 for them to keep another looks a very good back.

The Betfair Trader's View: Alan Thompson

Liverpool put up a very good display in their last game at the Emirates. However, they still haven’t managed to beat a side in the top half of the Premier League all season. When Liverpool have faced top six opposition they have conceded twice in seven of the eight games, the only exception a 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

As Lee says Man City have only conceded nine goals at the Etihad, it should be noted however that six of those goals were conceded against top six opposition (Man Utd three times and single goals against Spurs, Everton and Arsenal). I don’t see City slipping up here and I like them to win this to nil but wouldn’t take anything less than 3.9. I shall also back them to win 2-0 @ 11.5.