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Liverpool will look to make it back to back wins against title challengers on Sunday when they take on Manchester City at Anfield.
The Reds stormed to victory against Chelsea last weekend thanks to a late effort from former Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson, further reinforcing their credentials as top four contenders this season.
In fact, where it not for dropped points against newly promoted Norwich and Swansea, Kenny Dalglish’s side would sit in third position instead of Tottenham.
Now they sit three points behind Spurs and Newcastle, who occupy third and fourth respectively, while they drew level on points with Chelsea and Arsenal in 6th place thanks to their win at Stamford Bridge.
City meanwhile will be looking to bounce back from their mid-week disappointment in the Champions League, where a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Napoli left them relying on other results in order to qualify for the knockout stages.
Their European efforts are in stark contrast to their league campaign so far, where they remain only unbeaten side in the top flight of English football and sit five points clear of Manchester United.
Having been so defensively vulnerable in Naples, Citizens boss Roberto Mancini will look for an altogether improved display when they travel to Anfield.
The game should throw up an interesting duel between full-backs Glen Johnson and Micah Richards, with both men desperate to impress England manager Fabio Capello with Euro 2012 rapidly approaching.
Johnson got the nod to start against Spain during the international break, while Richards was a notable omission from the squad altogether, raising more than a few eyebrows, and the City man will look to demonstrate his worth to the watching crowd with his England rival on the pitch.
Steven Gerrard is a notable exception, with Dalglish admitting that the game would come too soon for the Liverpool skipper as he continues his recovery from an ankle infection.
City have a historically poor record against Liverpool, and have in fact picked up only one win in their last 12 games against the Reds, while their visits to Anfield have been equally as fruitless – they go into the game having not won at Anfield in their last eight attempts.
Mancini left star striker Sergio Aguero on the bench for the defeat against Napoli, and wioll likely bring the Argentinian back into the fold against Liverpool, with Edin Dzeko the man most likely to make way.
The former Atletico Madrid man has 10 goals in their last 11 games and could come back to haunt the team that reportedly showed in an interest in bringing him to Anfield over the Summer before he opted for the Etihad Stadium.
Match Winner
The game should by a close one by all means, however Manchester City’s excellent start means that despite their historically poor record against Liverpool they go into the game as favourites.
The visitors are 3.38 (13/8) with BetFred to claim all three points, while Liverpool are 3.00 (2/1) with StanJames to make it back to back wins against two of the powerhouses of the Premier League.
The draw is 4.00 (12/5) with VC Bet.
First goalscorer
With such an array of attacking on the pitch the first goalscorer market is an extremely competitive one, and it is Sergio Aguero is top of the pile, placed at 7.00 (6/1) with Ladbrokes.
Luiz Suarez is Liverpool’s main attacking threat and has proved himself an exceptional talent since joining from Ajax in January – the Uruguayan is a good bet at 8.00 (7/1), also with Ladbrokes.
Mario Balotelli is 7.50 (13/2) with Bet365, and as an outside bet David Silva is very well placed at 10.00 (9/1) with BWIN.
