Manchester City vs Liverpool
The world’s oldest cup competition is top of the bill this weekend and England’s best two teams are about to come face-to-face again for the second time in a week.
Manchester City and Liverpool are about to slug it out in the FA Cup on Saturday at Wembley at the end of a hectic week in which they are both in Champions League action.
Last Sunday, the two juggernauts clashed in the Premier League and played out a pulsating 2-2 draw. Manchester City had the better of the first half and could have been well ahead, but the Reds roared back in the second half and Sadio Mane earned a point with a sublime finish.
The SBOTOP team reckons the winner of the 2022 competition will come from this tie as our latest FA Cup 2022 betting odds will testify. The Sky Blues are marginal favourites to win at odds of 2.50 with Liverpool at 3.10. Chelsea are priced at 3.50 and the rank outsiders Crystal Palace are at 13.00.
City and Liverpool are going for a treble and a quadruple respectively and this game is as big as it gets in the domestic calendar.
Talking Points
Why Wembley?
Up in the north of England, the FA Cup 2022 news has been dominated by a discussion of how fans will get to the national stadium to watch this semi-final. For such a big match between the North West powerhouses, it makes little sense to ask both sets of fans to travel the four-hour journey to the capital city.
To add to the problem for travelling fans, there are no direct trains running on the Easter Weekend and the FA’s gesture of laying on 100 free coaches to travel from North to South and back will only get 5,000 supporters to Wembley.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the decision to play in London is ‘one of the most ridiculous stories I ever heard.’
Manchester City wait on Dias
While Klopp’s dismay at the semi-final venue is shared by everyone at both clubs, Pep Guardiola has a more pressing issue in mind as he waits to see whether his defender Ruben Dias is fit to play. The Portuguese star has arguably been the best centre-back in the league since his arrival at the Etihad and Sky Blue fans believe they may not have conceded two to the Reds last weekend had he been at the heart of the defence.
Guardiola has refused to rule Dias out from the midweek Champions League date with Atletico Madrid and that suggest he may be available. If he is fit to face Liverpool on Saturday, then the odds on City at 2.23 to win in 90 minutes might be good value.
There is no doubting City’s attacking threat and there could be a start for Riyad Mahrez, who is top scoring with four goals in the competition, and Phil Foden is pushing for a start too after impressive performances in his last two outings.
Liverpool’s striker dilemma
Liverpool are at 2.91 to win in 90 minutes and they may have a slight advantage in their opportunity to rest players for their Champions League date.
The Reds were already two goals to the good when they met Benfica on Wednesday night, and with an array of attacking talent at his disposal, Klopp may be tempted to shuffle his pack.
The most potent front three comprises of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Diogo Jota. But the addition of Luis Diaz from Porto and the ever-dependable Roberto Firmino means Klopp may be happy to rest Mane and Salah for some part of the next two games.
Second string striker Takumi Minamino has three goals in the FA Cup this year so he will be hoping to start on Saturday too.
What a nice problem for the Liverpool boss to have.
History
After the latest battle between these two top teams, Liverpool still lead the head-to-heads by 26 to 13 with draws now up to 18. Liverpool went into the midweek games unbeaten in six matches while the Sky Blues are unbeaten in nine, so could we be in for another draw in 90 minutes?
Betting Tip
At a price of 1.73 to advance to the next round, Manchester City should take a step closer to another title. But as both the previous meetings between these two amazing teams show, it’s likely to be an end-to-end battle.
The margin is narrow with Liverpool available at 2.14 to advance and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see this game get to 90 minutes all square.
The Draw is priced at 3.16 and for another 2-2 draw you can get odds of 10.60. Either way, I’m expecting goals and another cracker.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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