Liverpool v Manchester City – live!

• Refresh for the latest or select the auto-update button • Email your thoughts to scott.murray@guardian.co.uk • Get the latest league tables and more in our stats centre Pre-match entertainment: This classic 1981 documentary charts one of Manchester City’s many meltdowns. Who can resist? Starting with Liverpool dishing City a terrible thrashing at Maine Road, it captures the bellicose genius of Malcolm Allison, as well as his successor John Bond’s ability to brashly wing it. Enjoy, enjoy. Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire) Man City: Hart, Boyata, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Barry, Toure Yaya, Milner, Tevez, Adam Johnson, Dzeko. Subs: Taylor, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Silva, De Jong, Balotelli, McGivern. Liverpool: Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Kuyt, Lucas, Spearing, Meireles, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Gulacsi, Cole, Maxi, Wilson, Ngog, Shelvey, Robinson. Kick off: 8pm. City should be favourites tonight. They’re coming off the back of a confidence-boosting 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland, and recall striker Edin Dzeko, Gareth Barry and James Milner, £££££££££s worth of talent. Liverpool, on the other hand, are without permacrock Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson and captain Steven Gerrard, their squad in such tatters that Kenny Dalglish is tonight handing a first-team debut to 18-year-old defender John Flanagan. But if any team can confound expectations when favourites, it’s Manchester City. A month of the campaign’s still to go, of course, but that doesn’t stop this one having a real end-of-season feel to it. Liverpool have little to play for. They’ve got next to no chance of qualifying for Europe next season; fifth place is realistically beyond them, and the only way sixth will make it is if City win the FA Cup but come fifth in the league. City will be hoping to increase their chances of a Champions League place, it’s true, but the day we’re obliged to get excited about fourth place will be the day we run the hot bath, put on some Leonard Cohen, and pour ourselves a large, relaxing gin. Premier League Liverpool Manchester City Scott Murray guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.