Betting Value Plentiful as Liverpool hosts City in Gameweek 8’s Biggest Match

It’s early days, but Sunday’s meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City has the potential to be one of the most important Premier League games of the season. Both teams sit at 19 points but it’s City that tops the table thanks to goal differential. Liverpool has had great success against Man City down the years and a win in front of the home fans goes a long way to lifting silverware come season’s end.

As expected, betting odds in this match are tight with Liverpool the ever-so-slight favorite at +155 at online shop Sportsbook and City coming back closely at +180. The draw is also very appealing at +255. With two attacks like we have here, you’d expect the total to be at 3 but the OVER is at a nice price of +105 with the UNDER -125. Spread markets have this one as a pick with Liverpool -125 and City +105.

Let’s dig into this game and find some bets, shall well?

View Liverpool vs Manchester City Matchup Page

Red Alert

One thing to note about this matchup of two Premier League titans is that Liverpool has really done a number on Manchester City down the years across all competitions. In the last 10 meetings between the two (across Premier League, Champions League and League Cup), Liverpool has won an impressive seven while drawing one and losing just two.

In the last three, which is made up of two Champions League matches and the last Premier League clash, Liverpool has won all three and outscored City by an impressive 9-4. In this fixture last season, Liverpool won a thriller 4-3 thanks to goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and, of course, Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool was actually up 4-1 before late strikes from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan made for an interesting conclusion.

Furthermore, Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp has the slight edge over City boss Pep Guardiola in a history that dates back to the Bundesliga. Klopp has won seven of 14 meetings with Pep while the Spaniard boasts five wins and the pair drawing twice.

No KDB, No Problem. But Now Ilkay?

While City is a side that boasts a deep pool of world class talent, the early season injury to star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne was always a big blow. The Citizens have weathered the storm admirably with six wins and one draw through seven matches, but this Liverpool game poses a new challenge.

In his stead, City has normally relied on Gundogan in that midfield playmaker role and the German has been quite good. Gundogan has made six appearances in the league and has contributed with one goals and a pair of assists.

Now it appears as if Gundogan could miss out as he faces a late fitness test and did not train on Friday. De Bruyne did return to the training pitch, however, and there have been whispers that the Belgian could actually feature at Anfield. Considering early reports were that KDB wouldn’t return until around December, this would be a major shot in the arm for City.

As usual, you’ll need to keep a close eye on lineups for this matchup. The status of both KDB and Ilkay Gundogan should go a long way into any consideration for a side wager here.

Doing it at Both Ends

City ran away with the league last season and while Liverpool and Chelsea look to have stepped up their game this season, Pep’s side still looks to be the crème de la crème of the league. City tops the table thanks to a wildly impressive +18 goal differential through seven matches thanks to a whopping 21 goals so far.

With names like Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and David Silva, we all knew goals wouldn’t be difficult to come by. What’s surprising is the efficiency and the dominance without De Bruyne in the XI. When he comes back, the league could have a lot of catching up to do.

Defensively, City has been exceptional. They concede the fewest shots per game (6.1) and commit the fewest fouls per game (7.3), and if they didn’t dominate possession statistics, they’d probably easily lead the league in tackles per game and interceptions per game.

While Liverpool has looked incredibly upgraded at the back, City is still the gold standard in the league when it comes to a perfect combination of balance in attack and at the back.

Ninja’s Pick

In the video above, I picked the Liverpool moneyline and considering how well they’ve played against City and how well Klopp does against Pep, I still like it.

But there is so much to bet in this game. OVER 3 looks like a tasty option and don’t forget to check out anytime goalscorer markets considering the number goalscorers will be on the pitch in this game. Salah and Aguero are being offered at +110 and Sterling, Firmino and Mané are out there at around +190.

While I like the Liverpool moneyline, everything hinges on starting lineups here. Both sides are coming off midweek Champions League games so keep an eye on what the managers do here.