Paul Merson claims one team ‘could be blown away’ as he gives Liverpool v Man City prediction

Paul Merson believes that one team ‘could be blown away’ when Liverpool welcome Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds will be seeking to exact revenge for the 3-0 thrashing which was handed out to them at the Etihad Stadium in the reverse fixture three months ago, and resounding wins over Qarabag and Newcastle in their last two games have given Arne Slot’s side some positive momentum.

Pep Guardiola’s side also enjoyed a morale-boosting win over the Magpies in recent days as they secured their place in the Carabao Cup final in midweek, although they could find themselves nine points adrift of leaders Arsenal by the time tomorrow’s match in L4 kicks off.

Merson explains Liverpool v Man City prediction

In his latest Premier League predictions column for Sportskeeda, Merson explained why he’s backing Liverpool to avenge their November defeat in Manchester.

He wrote: ‘I’d be shocked if Liverpool lost this football match! They have bounced back well after conceding that last-minute winner against Bournemouth – 10 goals in the two games since then shows they are clicking in attack.

‘Manchester City always let in goals. You check their results and if you’ve never watched them, you would think they were flying, but the reality is that they have given away chance after chance in these games.

‘Liverpool are not lackadaisical in front of goal. Manchester City, meanwhile, are all over the place at the back and could be blown away at Anfield.

‘Liverpool attack is really clicking with Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah. It’s like Manchester City have Rayan Cherki but Liverpool have three X-factors lined up next to each other as part of their front three.’

In forecasting a 3-1 home win, Merson concluded: ‘If the game opens up and it becomes a ‘you have a shot, we have a shot’ type of match, then Liverpool will run away with it.

‘Manchester City have to win this game. Even a draw would mean the title race is over because Arsenal would still have an eight-point lead…I expect the title race to be done this weekend, so Liverpool win.’

Liverpool v Man City could be a high-scoring thriller

Merson’s firm confidence in Liverpool to emerge victorious is in stark contrast to Peter Crouch and Chris Sutton both predicting a 2-2 draw, and that in itself indicates how difficult it is to accurately forecast how the match will go.

While the increasingly effective chemistry between Wirtz and Ekitike in particular has made the Reds more potent in attack, results such as the defeat at Bournemouth a fortnight ago illustrate that there’s still a vulnerability that a team like Man City could exploit to the full.

However, Guardiola’s side have also had question marks over them in recent weeks, as we saw last weekend when they let slip a 2-0 lead against a brittle Tottenham Hotspur side to end up drawing 2-2, while their performance in the derby defeat to Man United last month was insipid, to put it politely.

Considering the world-class attacking quality on both sides, and the injury problems which have plagued both defensively, this game has the potential to be a high-scoring thriller.

It’s a fiendishly tough one to call, but with the weaponry Liverpool have up front and amid what’s sure to be a raucous atmosphere under the Anfield lights, hopefully the Reds can edge it and land a big scalp in their attempts to ultimately secure Champions League qualification.

You can watch Slot’s full pre-Manchester City press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:

The post Paul Merson claims one team ‘could be blown away’ as he gives Liverpool v Man City prediction appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.