Prediction: Manchester City vs Liverpool

Verdict: Total goals over 3.5

Best odds: 17/10

Bookmaker: 888sport

For the second time in under a week, Manchester City and Liverpool are set to face each other directly on Saturday, this time on neutral ground. They will be battling it out for a place in the FA Cup final, which means the venue of action is Wembley.

Last week they met at the Etihad in the Premier League, in a match that could have swung the title race either way but eventually left it where it was, with City leading the way ahead of Liverpool by a single point. Kevin De Bruyne’s deflected shot broke the deadlock after less than five minutes, and Diogo Jota finished off a great team move for the visitors to level things up in the 13th. Gabriel Jesus took advantage of a poorly set Liverpool defence to ensure his team went to the break a goal ahead, but it took less than a minute after the restart for Sadio Mane to get on the end of a lovely Mohamed Salah pass, beat Ederson Moraes and set what turned out the final score at 2-2.

Manchester City

City were obviously hoping to put some distance between them and the Merseysiders on the table, but they won’t be too unhappy with keeping it as is either. They’ve been the dominant force in English football for a while now, and they’ll be looking to prove that between now and the end of the season. Apart from the Premier League and the FA Cup, they will also be looking to win the Champions League, the only trophy that still eludes them even though many believe Pep Guardiola was hired for that very purpose back in 2016.

City’s last-six run consists of a goalless draw away to Crystal Palace (who are set to face Chelsea in the other semifinal), a 1-4 win away to Southampton, a 0-2 win away to Burnley, a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at home, the 2-2 home draw against Liverpool last week, and a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Atletico in Madrid in the second leg of their clash in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Team News

“We are in big trouble,” Guardiola said in his press conference. The match in Madrid in midweek took its toll, and the Catalan tactician apparently won’t be able to call upon Kyle Walker or Kevin De Bruyne for this match, though neither of them has been completely ruled out as of yet. But if they aren’t ready to play, Joao Cancelo will probably switch flanks in defence, allowing for Oleksandr Zinchenko to step in at left-back, while Ilkay Gundogan is the obvious choice to play instead of De Bruyne.

This match might see the long-awaited return of Ruben Dias take place. The Portuguese centre-back has recovered from an injury which kept him out for over six weeks, and having sat on the bench in Madrid, he might start in the place of John Stones at Wembley.

It will be interesting again to see which players Guardiola names to start upfront. Last week, it was Sterling, Foden and Jesus. Against Atletico three days later, it was Bernardo Silva (Gundogan took his place in midfield), Foden and Riyad Mahrez. Jack Grealish is probably hoping to get the nod this time, but it’s not very likely.

Liverpool

Liverpool had an arguably easier task in midweek, facing Benfica at Anfield after a 1-3 win in Lisbon, and it was a rather interesting match which ended in a 3-3 draw.

A win at the Etihad last week would have seen Jurgen Klopp’s men overtake City at the top of the Premier League, but it’s never easy to leave that stadium undefeated, and they had to settle for that.

Liverpool have already won a trophy this season, beating Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup final, and for all of the attempts from Klopp and his players to play the term down, they’re obviously still chasing that elusive ‘quadruple’ never before won in English football.

The Merseysiders have been on a good run of results recently. Their last six fixtures in all competitions include a 0-2 win away to Arsenal, a 0-1 win over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarterfinals, a 2-0 home win over Watford, the 1-3 win over Benfica in Portugal, the 2-2 draw away to City and the 3-3 draw at home against Benfica.

Team News

As things stand at the moment, Klopp has no injury worries at the moment, having rested the majority of his team on Wednesday. Trent Alexander-Arnold will be back to take over from Joe Gomez on the right defensive flank, Andy Robertson from Kostas Tsimikas on the left, Virgil van Dijk to take command of the back line with Joel Matip at his side, Fabinho to anchor the midfield, Thiago Alcantara the man closest to Fabinho, Salah and Mane in the wide attacking positions, and Jota as the central attacker.

Conclusion

City mostly dominated the clash at the Etihad last week, and though they won’t enjoy that kind of support at Wembley while possibly playing without two important players, Guardiola has a host of top players at his disposal and he will have a plan on how to outplay the Reds again.

On the other hand, it’s to be expected that Liverpool will be much better prepared this time around, and fully powered up, they’ll be looking to inflict pain on their title rivals in the league by knocking them out of the cup first. We’re in for another clash of the titans, with plenty of goals.

Verdict: Total goals over 3.5

Best odds: 17/10

Bookmaker: 888sport