The last game of the opening round of Premier League fixtures in 2019 is the biggest match of the season so far when the champions Manchester City play host to runaway leaders Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday evening.
Liverpool could almost put City out of the title race if they can leave Manchester with all three points but if the champions can end the unbeaten campaign of the Reds we will very much have a title race ignited.
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Manchester City
It has been a rocky spell for Manchester City over the last month or so. They have gone from looking impossible to beat to losing three times in a short space of time and now find themselves playing catch up and probably likely to have to go the rest of the season unbeaten if they are going to retain their crown. The one thing they must do is not lose here but in truth you wonder if a draw will be enough for them.
Although losing three matches was not part of the plan for Pep Guardiola, it wasn’t like they were massively outplayed in them. They dominated their defeat to Chelsea but couldn’t find the back of the net and were undone by true wonder goals in losses to Leicester City and Crystal Palace so they are not getting outplayed but the losses have still been very damaging.
Liverpool
I think even by Liverpool’s wildest dreams this has been a better season than they would have expected. To go 20 matches in the campaign and still not be beaten says everything both about their improvement from last season and the quality that they have within their squad. You need more than just a good starting XI to go undefeated for that length of time.
Much has been made of the Liverpool attack for a fair while now, and rightly so, but in recent weeks the quality of Virgil van Dijk has got people raving about him. There is still a feeling that the defence has not been tested but that will be put to bed after this one as there will be no bigger test than the one they will face here. Whether they can stand up to the challenge will be interesting to see.
Team News
Ilkay Gundogan missed the win at Southampton on Sunday to be fit for this one so he is expected to return while Kevin de Bruyne is back in training and could feature. Guardiola will be without the suspended Fabian Delph and the injured Benjamin Mendy.
Liverpool could recall midfield trio Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Naby Keita while Alberto Moreno is fit again although he is not expected to feature in the game. Roberto Firmino will be looking to build on his three goals against Arsenal.
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Betting
What a massive match this is and hopefully it will live up to the size of the occasion. Sometimes we see these matches bring about a cancellation of the two sides but I don’t see that being the case here. I think this one will justify the billing and we will see one of the matches of the campaign so far.
With that in mind I think we are going to see goals in this one. These two coaches don’t set sides up to be more defensive just because the opposition are dangerous. They believe in their attacking play and we saw that last season. I’m not too bothered about the 0-0 at Anfield earlier in the season as Liverpool looked tired after a Champions League match and City made chances. Both should be fresher here and I’m expecting the goals to flow. I’ll take over 2.75.
Tips
HALF WON – Back Over 2.75 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with BetVictor
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