Before today’s showdown with Manchester City at Anfield, I spoke to @Ben_mcr from Read Man City to get his views on the game:
To start off, can you tell us about the main dangers Manchester City can pose to Liverpool on Sunday, and who you think the real danger-men for your side are?
I think if Sergio Aguero carries on like he did against Barcelona he can cause real problems, for he was probably the only real threat and the only real shining light in mid-week, as he often is. He’s always got a goal in him as well, that’s plain to see. Depending on whether Dzeko or Bony starts, they could both be dangerous. I’ve been quite critical of Dzeko at times since he signed but he’s stepped it up in the last couple of things and I feel like it could be the influence of Wilfried Bony that’s made him think “well I won’t play if I’m not careful here” and he’s stepped it up – alternatively, Pellegrini could finally start Bony after starting him from the bench in the last two games. The return of Yaya Toure could be very important as well, because his absence through suspension impacted us hugely during the week, and now he’s back in the team (and will almost certainly play) he can cause real problems.
Most people saw the return of Luis Suarez on English soil earlier this week- how confident are you of going to the Nou Camp and getting the result needed to progress?
Simply – I’m not. I’m more confident than I would be if Messi had managed to get his penalty or the rebound past Joe Hart that would have made it 3-1 going into the second leg, but even going into the Nou Camp and only needing to get back a one-goal difference is a huge task that I’m not confidence we can accomplish it. I’ll be delighted if we can, but if we play like we did on Wednesday then we’ve got no chance. Yaya’s European suspension will have finished by then, and he’ll be able to play again, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
At this current moment in time, what do you think Manchester City need to achieve to have a ‘successful’ season?
At this stage, the only thing that could make me class this as a remotely successful season would be retaining the league title, and even that is pushing it. We’ve disappointed in both the domestic cup competitions and shouldn’t have got in the position where we were out, and I don’t think Europe was ever a realistic goal for this campaign. It’s a shame, but I don’t think this season will go down in our history as one of our best or most well-remembered.
How do you think the top 4 will end up looking, come the end of the year?
Chelsea
City
United
Arsenal
I’m not convinced we can manage to beat Chelsea to the title again and I feel like they’ll be able to push through and get results even in bad positions, something they’re remarkably good at. United haven’t been in the greatest form but I’m confident they can hold off the challenge of Arsenal and Liverpool, and I’m also confident they won’t be able to beat us to second-place, which I’m sure they’d love. A second-place finish isn’t too bad, considering we’ve had some unbelievably poor runs at times this season.
This fixture last year was played in rather different circumstances, can you recall your thoughts on that game?
I hated it, but afterwards I was pretty much resigned to you winning the title, which isn’t that bad. I’d rather we win it but if it came down to a choice between you winning it and Chelsea winning it I’d be choosing you every time. It’s kind of sad how it slipped away from you, and you probably deserved to win the title more than we did. That game was just the pinnacle – the day I thought it was over and there was no coming back.
When looking at the current Liverpool squad, who do you feel poses your side the most threat on Sunday?
I’m inclined to say Mario Balotelli, purely because I’ve probably seen more from him than any other player in your squad. I’ve seen what he can do when he’s on his day and whilst he might not have had the best of starts at Anfield he looks to be picking up now, and could easily cause us some serious damage on Sunday. Especially when you get a penaly.
Finally, can we get a score prediction from you?
2-2 or 2-1 City. Your game in Istanbul on Thursday could swing it our way.
My usual counter prediction isn’t coming this week, as I entirely agree with Ben that Liverpool could struggle with this one. I’ll go for a 2-2 draw.
