Liverpool is a slight favorite in soccer betting lines at +162 while Manchester City is +175.

Manchester City has thrived on defense. They have allowed 27 goals in EPL action, good for the second fewest in the league. Joe Hart has been solid all season, and he has kept the team in most games. The offense has come to life as the season has gone as well, taking some of the pressure off of Hart and the defense. Carlos Tevez has been the star with 19 goals, nearly half the total for the team.

Liverpool hasn’t been as consistent this year. They got off to a tough start but are starting to settle in to their game. Goalie Pepe Reina has stepped up lately. He has allowed 38 goals on the season so far. Offensively, Liverpool is still missing the departed Fernando Torres. Still, Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles are capable scorers for this team. Liverpool has gotten recent wins against Chelsea and Manchester United, so they are capable of winning big games.

Manchester City won the first game with a 3-0 score. They have better talent on defense, so Liverpool will be hard pressed to score. However, playing at home should work to Liverpool’s advantage. Expect a tight game where one goal could make all of the difference.  In online betting free picks Manchester City are favorites to win this mach.

In online sportsbook, Soccer Odds have not yet been posted.

Chelsea had been struggling lately. That’s why they decided to shake things up and sign Torres. Torres didn’t play against Sunderland, but he should be ready in time for the Liverpool match. Petr Cech has been a consistent rock in goal. He has started every EPL game for Chelsea. Offensively, Didier Drogba and Flourent Malouda lead the club with nine goals. One major question facing Chelsea is how Torres will play with Drogba.

The loss of Torres is a major blow to the Liverpool offense. He had led the team in goals and shots. Now, Liverpool will look to Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt to pick up the slack on offense. Goalie Pepe Reina has been erratic in league play, allowing over 30 goals on the season. However, he has led the team to consecutive shutouts.

Liverpool got off to a rough start but has found some footing. Still, more is expected of this traditional team. On the flip side, Chelsea saw their hot start fall apart. They are starting to regain their edge, and the addition of Torres figures to help. Liverpool pulled out a 2-0 win against Chelsea earlier in the season. Ironically, Torres scored both goals for Liverpool in that contest. As long as Chelsea can get their star players to mesh, they should have the edge in this game. For Liverpool, their best hope is to capitalize on Chelsea’s new offensive system.

Liverpool struggled in the early part of the season, but they have started to show signs of being the team that once regularly contended. Meanwhile, Blackpool has had an up and down season but is a respectable 11th in the standings.

Liverpool goalie Pepe Reina has been solid. In 19 starts, he has allowed 24 goals. The struggles for Liverpool have mainly come on offense. Fernando Torres has notched 6 goals on the season, but no other player has more than 3. Torres is the unquestioned key to the Liverpool offense. Torres scored a goal in their most recent win against Bolton, and the Liverpool offense is looking better as the season progresses.

Blackpool had their 5 match unbeaten streak snapped by Manchester City in their last outing. The goalie position has been an issue for Blackpool this season, but Richard Kingston has moved in to the role. He has given up 7 goals in his 6 starts. Offensively, there are 3 players tied with 5 goals each. Luke Varney, Marlon Harewood, and DJ Campbell must step up if the Blackpool offense is going to be a threat.

Earlier this year, Blackpool stunned Liverpool with a 2-1 victory. However, Liverpool has improved since that game. Torres has looked like the star player he is, and the play of Reina has improved as well. Despite their inexperience at the top level, Blackpool is a team that can’t be taken lightly. This should be a tight contest, and the team that scores first should be able to hold on for the win.

The offensive edge seems to go to Birmingham. They have scored two goals in each of their EPL games this year, while Liverpool has only managed two. Craig Gardner has led the way for Birmingham, scoring three goals on the season so far. Liverpool has goals by Fernando Torres and David N’gog. As for the goaltending edge, Liverpool has a major advantage.

Aside from a tough showing against Manchester City in which he let in three goals, Pepe Reina has been solid, notching six saves. A lot of the credit goes to the strong Liverpool defense. Ben Foster has faced more shots for Birmingham. While picking up ten saves, he has also allowed five goals. The offense has been able to bail him out so far this year, but Foster and the Birmingham defense need to step up if they want to break through to the upper echelon.

Liverpool has had little attack so far this season, and that will need to change if they want to return to elite status. Birmingham has holes in their defense, and Liverpool has the talent to expose them. But Birmingham is solid at home, and that will be to their advantage. Both teams have a lot to play for, but this game figures to end in a draw.

Manchester City had a successful season in the EPL last year, and is hoping to for another effort. Manchester City got off to a promising start with a scoreless draw against Tottenham and a 3-0 win against Liverpool. Goalie Joe Hart let in his first goal of the season against Sunderland, but is still solid in goal. Carlos Tevez notched two goals in the win against Liverpool, and he is one of the main keys to the offense.

The Blackburn Rovers have scored one goal in each of their three matches so far this season, each coming from a different player. They’re offense isn’t as potent as that of Manchester City, but it is versatile. After a season opening shutout, goalie Paul Robinson has allowed two goals in the two subsequent games. Nikola Kalinic leads the offensive attack with eight shots, but only two have been on goal and one scored.

Manchester City has the home field edge and the superior goalie. They’re offense stalled against Sunderland, but they have the potential to be aggressive. Blackburn must try to capitalize on a better than expected performance against Arsenal. That might be a tall order against a team as strong as Manchester City.

The doubters were proven correct almost from the start as Liverpool stumbled from the start, opening the season with two wins and two defeats. Liverpool’s struggles were not limited to the Premier League however as they faltered in the UEFA Champions League group stages and the Carling Cup early on. Arsenal eliminated Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carling Cup, and a three match winless streak in the Champions League that featured two defeats and a draw ensured their elimination from Europe’s most prestigious club competition. Liverpool’s season bottomed out in January when they were eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round by Football League Championship side Reading.

The Reds appeared as though they might salvage their season late on however as they thrived in the second tier UEFA Europa League and made a push to retain their spot in the top four of the Premier League. In the end however, the Reds were eliminated by Spanish side Atletico Madrid in the semifinals of the Europa League and suffered a worse fate in the Premier League. Liverpool simply couldn’t maintain the consistency of form that Manchester City and Tottenham had down the stretch. The Reds ended their season meagerly with a 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea and a 0-0 draw away to Hull City, leaving Tottenham to take their place in the top four.

Liverpool finished seventh place in the Premier League standings, 23 points off the pace set by Chelsea and seven points behind fourth place Tottenham. The Reds, by virtue of Portsmouth ineligibility, will appear next season in the UEFA Europa League, a far cry from their annual appearances in the Champions League.

Manchester United always has the big target on its back, but that target is even larger this season. As the defending European champions, Man U finds itself in a dogfight for the Premier League title, trailing Chelsea 45 points to 43. With Arsenal just four points out of first, the championship doesn’t look to be decided any time soon.

The fourth member of England‘s Big Four hasn’t been as successful so far. With only 33 points, Liverpool is fighting just to make the 2010-11 Champions League, trailing Tottenham by four points for the fourth spot. Tottenham isn’t the only club they have to worry about; they need to leap over Aston Villa and Manchester City (both of whom have 35 points) to grab the league’s final Champions League spot.

Chelsea’s defense can be largely credited for getting them atop the table; their league-low 16 goals allowed has also given them the league’s best goal differential. Arsenal leads with 51 goals scored, led by Francesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie’s combined 16 points. With 21 goals allowed, though, the Gunners will need defensive improvement if they want to be champions.

The Premier League’s scoring title has been even more competitive, as Man U’s Wayne Rooney, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe currently have 14 points each, with Sunderland’s Darren Bent just a point behind them.