Manchester City will be targeting a victory on their return to Premier League action when they face Liverpool this weekend.
City progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals in their last domestic outing before the international break, while they also booked a spot in the last eight of the Champions League. The Blues secured a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in their last top-flight match thanks to Erling Haaland's 78th-minute penalty.
Pep Guardiola's side are second in the standings but have the chance to put the pressure on Arsenal, who don't play until 3pm. A victory over Liverpool would cut the gap to five points for at least a couple of hours.
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Here are the pundits' predictions for City's clash with Liverpool:
Chris Sutton (BBC)
"Manchester City cannot afford to slip up here and lose any more ground in the title race. This is a must-win game for them. Liverpool will play on the front foot and try to take the game to City and I am sure they will cause them some problems, but I still worry about the Reds at the other end.
"Their high defensive line has been found out plenty of times this season and they are so inconsistent that I just don't trust them to hold out. I fancy City strongly in this one."
Sutton's prediction: City 3-1 Liverpool
Paul Merson (Sportskeeda)
"This is a huge game for Manchester City and they cannot afford to slip up. If they drop points here, they could find themselves 10 points behind Arsenal. If City win this game, however, the onus will be on Arsenal. If you're an Arsenal fan, this is a game where you'd be hoping City would slip up.
"Liverpool aren't going to dominate the ball and will use their pace on the counter with Salah, Nunez, and Gakpo. Manchester City do leave open spaces at the back and Liverpool will need to exploit them.
"Liverpool have been a bit like a bag of rebels, and Jurgen Klopp doesn't know what he's going to get from his team. One minute they're beating United and City and the next, they're losing to Bournemouth away from home. If Liverpool lose to City and then beat Arsenal next week, they'll have blown the title race wide open. Liverpool need to win both of these games to get into the top four, and that would be a good result for them.
"Liverpool haven't had the season they've had so far only because of Trent Alexander-Arnold. He gets a lot of stick, and I'm not sure what Liverpool are going to do with the situation. They've won Premier League and Champions League titles with him in the team.
"I would be shocked if Erling Haaland isn't fit for this game - he pulled out of the international break. I don't know which Liverpool are going to turn up, and I'm backing Man City to win a massive three points this weekend."
Merson's prediction: City 2-0 Liverpool
Mark Lawrenson (Paddy Power)
"It looks as though Erling Haaland probably won’t play and Phil Foden’s definitely out which obviously makes it easier for Liverpool but we don’t know which Liverpool will turn up. Because of that, I’m going to go for a draw.
"Defensively last time away from home at Bournemouth they were all over the shop. Again. I think Jurgen Klopp would have been on to them. They need to improve defensively or City will do them easily.
"I think it might be a low-scoring draw that won’t be much use to anybody."
Lawrenson's prediction: City 1-1 Liverpool
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