Pre Match: Manchester City v. Liverpool, 1630 BST (UTC +1), Sunday 10 April 2022 (Premier League)

A fifth of the season, and you’re not factoring in what might be “easier” for us wouldn’t be “easier” for them and vice versa. Very simplistic thinking you have going on here.

So maybe don’t be so quick to judge it?

If we win this how many points do we go ahead by?

Angry Manchester City GIF by DAZN

Yes, calm down Pep. 2, that’s right. 2 points.

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It is simple, momentum is a fucking massive force in football. It’s how we won the league last time.

Look you are being overly antagonistic about this with all the sarcasm, you disagree fine let’s leave it there.

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In my opinion

We beat them
= we will need 5 more wins and 2 draws for the title

A draw on Sunday
= we will need to win the remaining 7 to win the title

We lose
= it’s over. 4 points with 7 games to go. They having the easier run compared to us and after that low blow of a loss. Very difficult to see another turnaround.

Big difference between 14 points in January and 4 points in April.

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There’s so much expectation management going on about this match, just like all season.

Maybe just don’t have any expectations about it and just enjoy each game as it is? If we win the league, what a journey. If we don’t, still an amazing journey. How often can we have said to have truly been in with a chance of a quadruple? I don’t get the repeated premature declarations that a game is lost, or the league is lost, when there’s still everything to play for.

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I can’t explain why but I really want to win the league on GD or even down to goals for. I want to beat them by the narrowest of margins just so it hurts more.

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The same momentum that saw them lose their winning streak? By that logic, no team that’s on a winning streak should lose it, ever, and we should see much longer streaks than we normally do. We should have seen a team win every single game in a season by now, and yet we haven’t.

And that’s because so much of what’s taken as gospel truth by football fans is often just the narrative being used to wrap the facts, rather than looking at them for what they are.

Fucking sadist, imagine the next 8 games if that’s the final outcome. I think I’d be in a casket by game 6.

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Manchester’s cocaine supply will run out.

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Most of it comes from Liverpool’s docks tbh…

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OK, let’s say we’re ahead by 3 going into the final game that we lose but secure the title anyway due to superior GD.

A win gives us an opportunity of a draw potentially, City in recent weeks have gone back to the low scoring wins which was successful in that title winning chase, another factor if we win is they might start chasing goals, that can lead to Spurs type results.

I assume they could have gone for a bucketful at Burnley and not to tred too far into this territory it’s not certain a win would allow that but I think it does and as others have said momentum is important if truth be told people mention Man Utd, Everton and Spurs I’m more concerned with the away games.

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Oh I don’t know the origin, I just know that there would be a massive order from one individual…

It’s more we’d miss out of spanking of Everton and Utd!! And we’d be back to 1-0, 2-1 wins!

What a game, can’t remember the last time there was such an ecounter of two sides of this level, going at it near the end of the league in a pretty decisive game. It may or may not decide the title. It’s like a little final.

We’ll have to find the right balance between courage and caution. Easy for us fans to say emotionally “go at them like wild animals”, but do that (or only that) and we’re probably finished. No need to mention that we’ll still have to play a very smart game, like every time (and like themselves also).

So I don’t think the game will look a lot different than most of the games with them. They lean more towards possession and control, we lean more towards enforcing mistakes off the ball, transitions, defensive solidty, etc.

Of course, there might be the “new” element of us taking more risks at some point in the second half if it’s going nowhere.

The side should be more or less predictable at this moment with recent events and performances.

Matip and Hendo back in, Thiago most probably stays.

Salah is not in good form but obviously a key player and our golden goose (can’t imagine his reaction if he was dropped for a game, I wouldn’t be against it), so he starts.

I’m pretty sure we will not go with Jota centrally because to play and beat City, we need a much more involved player in that zone. I’d rather see Mane ahead of Jota centrally if it was between the two, even if Mane had some heavy first touches last night and we finally calmed the game down and regained control when Bobby went in.

I also don’t see the scenario with both Jota and Diaz starting.

Most probably Bobby centrally and then one of Mane/Jota on the left. Diaz is fresh, but I think we’ll go for experience in this one and use Diaz potentially later on in the game.

Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s back to the Old Guard then with our first trio. Mane brings you more threat in both directions, Jota brings you that element of surprise and a goal from nowhere.

Could be:

Alisson
Trent Matip vDijk Robertson
Henderson Fabinho Thiago
Salah Firmino Mane

Subs: Kelleher, Konate, Gomez, Tsimikas, Milner, Keita, Jones, Diaz, Jota.

We’ll see if we have both CB’s on the bench of we sacrifice, say, Konate, for an additional midfield/attacking player, but let’s assume probably not.

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Watching our games would kill us. We would not be allowed to have comfortable wins. Just 1-0s

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2014?!

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Good shout, but it was still not of this level. Chelsea also had their chance (which Mourinho gave up on, I think that is often easily forgotten). We’re both now two fully proven top sides going at it. It’s very rare.

What year was the game of the 11mm goal line farce? 2019?

Yeah, but that was much earlier in the season, January 3rd.

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