BBC Sport columnist Chris Sutton expects an extremely close battle between Liverpool and Manchester City on Saturday at Etihad Stadium
Football pundit Chris Sutton anticipates an extremely close match between Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday at Etihad Stadium. However, Sutton predicted a 2-1 victory for the Citizens while citing their dominating run at home in the Premier League.
Last season’s treble winners have won every game at Etihad Stadium in all competitions this season. The Reds’ last victory at the Etihad Stadium came in 2018 in a 2-1 victory at the Champions League quarter-final. Liverpool’s last Premier League away at City came in November of 2015 during manager Jurgen Klopp’s first season.
The Merseyside giants are currently one point behind the league-leaders City in the Premier League. The Citizens had a lot of players who were unavailable for their respective nations during the November international break. As things stand, each of the players has successfully recovered for the upcoming game.
On the other hand, the Reds have plenty of South American talents who arrived late from their international duties. The shift of the game’s schedule to an early kick-off created a lot of controversy during the November international break.
The game is Liverpool’s 14th early kick-off match right after the international break since Klopp took over the club. Tottenham Hotspur played the second-highest early kick-off games post-international break with six, more than half of what the Reds got. The clear discrepancy has annoyed a lot of Kopites and only added to their grievances against the Premier League officials.
Speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan (h/t BBC), Sutton said that he is expecting an extremely close game on Saturday. He said:
“Home advantage will definitely help, though. Pep Guardiola’s side have won all 23 of their games at Etihad Stadium so far this year and their draw with Everton on 31 December 2022 was the last time they failed to win there, in any competition. That’s the main reason why I am going for them to just about edge this one and find a way to win but, whether Haaland plays or not, it is going to be extremely close.”
Controversies and expectations ahead of the big game
Liverpool are already lacking trust in match officials after a series of controversial decisions since the beginning of the season. The Reds suffered their only loss of the season against Tottenham Hotspur which involved two controversial red cards. A massive refereeing error involving VAR disallowed the opening goal of the game from Luis Diaz.
Many fans and football pundits have criticized the appointment of Chris Kavanagh as the match official for the game. Kavanagh has made many controversial decisions in the past and he has alleged allegiance towards Man City.
The match official denied a clear handball from Rodri as the game’s VAR official against Everton during the 2021-22 season. The decision played a pivotal role in City’s eventual Premier League victory over Liverpool by one point.
“I’ve got a three-year-old daughter at home who could tell you that’s a penalty.”
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 26, 2022
Frank Lampard made his thoughts clear on Rodri’s controversial ‘handball’ pic.twitter.com/JIZXYFqhcl
In the same season, Kavanagh refused to hand Harry Kane a red card for a reckless tackle when the Reds played against the Spurs. The match ended in a 2-2 draw and involved a red card to Andy Robertson for a reckless tackle.
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The Reds have played some sensational football this season as Klopp’s “Liverpool 2.0” continues to entertain the Kop. None of the Kopites expected Liverpool to challenge Man City so soon but they are optimistic about the game.
Anticipate an entertaining showdown in what should stand as the most significant match of the current Premier League season’s first half, regardless of the result.
