Manchester City have a big chance to take a step towards their first trophy of the season as they welcome Liverpool for the first leg of this Carling Cup semi-final.
Manchester City will be on a slight high after they nearly came from three goals behind to equalise against Manchester United last weekend. City were also playing the majority of that match with ten men and the reaction of the City fans at the final whistle suggested that the supporters will be out in force once again for this contest. City are the favourites at a best price of evens with most bookies.
Liverpool will want to show that they are a much better team than the side that lost this fixture in the Premier League not too long ago. They have been plagued by a number of issues off the field and they will want to win and send out a message that they are still a very strong and unified football club. Liverpool always take a lot of support to either of the big Manchester clubs and Bet365 offers 16/5 on a Liverpool win.
City will have a lot of the ball and it’s how they use it which will prove decisive over the course of the match. The manager decided to take a few key players off when City were 3-0 down to United in the FA Cup and that should mean that they’re slightly fresher for this fixture. City don’t normally have problems creating chances and a 2-0 win has odds of 9/1 with Ladbrokes.
Liverpool will set their stall out to be very difficult to break down and get through. They will not want to concede a large number of goals with the second leg just around the corner because this would give the momentum to their opponents. They may choose to play a negative system and steal a goal on the counter attack but they may get picked off if they’re too aggressive. A 1-0 Liverpool win is 11s with a couple of bookies.
Sergio Aguero showed that he can lead the City attack by himself against United and he may be asked to do a similar type of role in this game. Aguero has been on top form ever since he joined the club and he now looks like one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League. Aguero should be selected due to injuries elsewhere and Ladbrokes offers 5s that he’ll score the first goal.
Andy Carroll will continue to play up top for Liverpool due to the suspension of star striker Luis Suarez. Carroll played in the last game between these clubs and his side should be more familiar with how he wants the ball delivered in order to give him the best chance to score goals for his team. Carroll needs a goal to get his Liverpool career going, he is 9/1 with a couple of bookmakers.
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