Liverpool will contest their first away game of the 2010-11 Barclays Premier League season this evening when they make the short journey to Eastlands to tackle Manchester City.
A busy start to life under Roy Hodgson's stewardship means the Reds' clash with the Citizens is their fifth competitive fixture of the fledgling campaign so far.
With three wins and a highly-spirited draw with Arsenal under their belts, Liverpool head into battle in buoyant mood - and history certainly seems to suggest they should be optimistic of obtaining a positive result.
The Reds have not suffered defeat against City since the historic 2004-05 campaign when, with one eye on the Champions League, they went down 1-0 in Manchester.
Recent encounters between the sides have typically been close-fought affairs - three of the four games have ended in a draw, while Liverpool overturned a two-goal deficit to clinch a 3-2 victory at Eastlands in 2008.
Like the Reds, Roberto Mancini's contingent got their league campaign up and running with a draw against north London opposition as they played out a goalless stalemate with Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
However, City's sizeable spending power has led many to believe they will muscle into contention at the top of the table in 2010-11.
After narrowly missing out on a Champions League berth last term, the Blues have enjoyed a fruitful summer in the transfer market as they bolstered their ranks ready for a renewed assault on the top four.
Nonetheless, Mancini admits he is wary of Liverpool's threat.
He said: "Liverpool are a strong team. They did not sell any players from last season.
"We want to win but I have a lot of respect for them and a lot of respect for Roy Hodgson. It should be a good match."
The big-money additions of James Milner, Aleksandar Kolarov, Jerome Boateng, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli have lodged City firmly in the running for honours this term.
Balotelli's protracted signing has already bore fruit for Mancini, with the jet-heeled 20-year-old marking his debut with the only goal of the game in a Europa League success against FC Timisoara in Romania.
The Italian international also sustained an injury in that contest - but he doesn't expect to sit out tonight's game.
"It was the kind of debut I dreamed of," said Balotelli. "But my right leg aches.
"I think it may be a cartilage thing and the problem is I do not have much muscle on this side.
"It wasn't the result of a tackle, nobody touched me, I simply over-extended the knee.
"It's a bit of a problem, but I'm sure it will go away fast and that I will be available against Liverpool."
As well as deciding whether to pitch the striker into action against Liverpool, Mancini is facing several other selection dilemmas.
Milner is expected to be handed his City bow, though fellow new boys Kolarov (ankle) and Boateng (leg) are likely to join Wayne Bridge (toe) on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are set to welcome a clutch of stars back into their squad after Hodgson afforded the likes of Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel and Dirk Kuyt rests against Trabzonspor.
"We've got seven top quality players to come back," he said. "Thursday gave me the chance to play a number of players who don't often play for the first team.
"We were able to rest a few players from top competitive football after all they have done."
The boss will also assess Daniel Agger and Javier Mascherano before deciding whether to include them in his Eastlands blueprint.
Hodgson added: "Javier had a slight strain in his calf but I have great faith that he will play. Luckily it's not pulled. We think within a week he will recover from that and he did some light training on Thursday.
"Agger is more complicated. Daniel was concussed so it's taken out of the hands of coaches and physios and goes into the realm of doctors who will decide if enough time has gone by for him to play.
"Daniel is very positive. He feels a lot better and has done some running."
Joe Cole misses out tonight as he begins a three-match suspension.
Click the image below to watch Roy's pre-match press conference
No comments:
Post a Comment