Liverpool, Manchester City lock horns in the Premier League.
All eyes will be on Anfield as Liverpool host a potential Premier League title-decider when Manchester City visit on Sunday.
After 24 years and more than 900 league games since their last title in 1990, a win for Liverpool will leave them with one hand on the trophy; lose and it may all be over for them, with City left to map out the route of the open-bus parade. A draw would be advantage City.
The emotional clash will be framed with tributes to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, where 96 Liverpool fans died after a stampede at Sheffield during an FA Cup semi-final in 1989.
Currently, the Reds sit at the top of the table, with five more games to go and four points clear of City, who have two games in hand. Both teams have scored 174 goals, with Liverpool at 90, while City have accumulated 84.
Brendan Rodger’s side will be looking to secure their 10th successive league victory, having recorded a routine, albeit controversial, 2-1 win over West Ham last weekend, courtesy of two penalties from Steven Gerrard.
Rodger’s side is riding on the back of their gung-ho attitude, with the support of a large fan base and a noise to equal the sense of destiny, history, and emotion this encounter holds for them. “We have an army of supporters behind us who are incredible; we’ve got a team high in confidence and belief, knowing we can beat anyone; we have no fear,” said Rodgers, according to The Telegraph.
“If you become fearful of it, that’s the first-class ticket to fail. The roar is different here at the moment. I have sensed it.
“We will unleash the supporters yet again on our opponents. Anfield is a very, very difficult place for people to come and play now. I have felt the power of the support here.”
The Reds will turn to Daniel Sturridge, who quit his former club City for the sake of his career, and now makes a deadly combination with Luis Suarez, to create problems for their opponents. They will also have Gerrard’s brilliance backing up their play.
After more than two decades in United’s shadow, Liverpool have the chance now to write a new chapter in the club’s history. Rodger’s has given his side the individual freedom to attack freely and do whatever it takes to put the ball in the net.
On the other hand, City, who are newly established, compared to historical giants Liverpool, focus mainly on teamwork and not individual brilliance. They have one of the best home records this season and recently thrashed Southampton 4-1; however, it is their away form that has let them down. This could play a pivotal role in deciding the Premier League title since the clash is set to take place at Anfield.
Moreover, Manuel Pellegrini’s side may need to take heed of what happened to Tottenham and Arsenal at Liverpool’s home ground, with the former being destroyed 4-0 and the latter, 5-1. Pellegrini’s side themselves have historically struggled at the stadium, having won only once there in the past 22 league encounters.
Having said this, City’s Vincent Kompany needs to be on top of his game to steady his side’s challenging approach.
However, the captain has banked his side’s success at Anfield by pointing to City’s away victories at Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Tottenham as evidence that they can beat Liverpool at home.
“They [Liverpool] have scored a lot of goals – as have we – but we’ve only conceded two goals in our last seven Premier League games so we’ve been defending well, too, and that will be just as important as our strikers finding the net on Sunday,” said Kompany, according to The Guardian.
“It’s a game between two teams with slightly different styles, but the same philosophy and I think it will be a very entertaining game because both teams will try to score goals.”
Besides the potential tite-decider, Chelsea will be looking to end an away three-match losing streak when they travel to Swansea on Sunday.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2014.
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