Arne Slot: Manchester City will not be easy to beat

Liverpool are set to host Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday (3:00 AM on Monday in Australia) in a potential early-season title deciding match. The Reds are the clear betting sites favourite to win the league with an eight-point lead over Man City. If they did get the win, Liverpool would surely go on to win the title this season.
 
Given the stakes, Liverpool manager Arne Slot says that his side will not take anything for granted. He says that Man City will be tough to beat, despite the Sky Blues’ terrible recent form.

It won’t be easy

Speaking to the English press on Thursday, one day after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions league, Slot previewed the Liverpool vs. Manchester City match.

When asked about his side’s chances and what it is like to prepare for Pep Guardiola’s struggling Man City, the Dutchman stressed that he is expecting a real fight on Sunday.

“I don't think anyone in the last eight or nine years, or maybe even longer, would have said City at home or away (and) the word easy comes to mind,” Slot said.

Easy may not be the right word, but the soccer betting odds predict a strong performance for Slot’s side on Sunday.

PlayUp gives Liverpool $2.05 chances of beating Man City at Anfield. Not overwhelming odds by any means, but it’s significantly lower odds than you would expect to see when these two giants face off.

If you want to back City in this match, PlayUp gives the Sky Blues $3.20 odds to upset Liverpool at home.

“Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world”

The new Liverpool manager also added that he thinks Man City’s problems have been overstated and they have been better than their recent results have shown.

“I know everyone looks at their results but if you face them, and that is what we do, you analyse it,” Slot said.

“Against Brighton, they were 1-0 up, could have scored two or three and didn't and then got beat 2-1. Against Tottenham, they could have been after 20 minutes two or three goals up.

“Against Feyenoord, that has not happened many times. They were 3-0 up, completely dominated the game and it ended up 3-3.”

Slot says, despite the results, that Man City will always be a top team as long as Pep Guardiola is in charge of them.

“They are still a very, very, very good team and one of the reasons why I think Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world is he always comes up with solutions for his problems.

“His problem now might be that Rodri is out but we all know that he will come up with a solution and their run of form will go again.

“Hopefully it is after Sunday.”

Liverpool injuries

Another major talking point of Slot’s press conference on Thursday were his side’s injuries.

Deputy right back Conor Bradley and starting centre back Ibrahima Konaté both suffered muscle injuries in the Champions League against Real Madrid this week.

“Konaté and Bradley are still being assessed,” Slot revealed, “It is difficult to see where they are. Let's wait and see but it's never a good sign (when players come off).”

Conclusion

Barring the long-term injuries to Rodri and Oscar Bobb, Man City are coming into this match with a relatively healthy squad. Ruben Dias has just returned from injury and Jéremy Doku has returned to training. Mateo Kovacic is doubtful to play.