REDS TOO HOT Man City ‘can’t handle pressure’, says Liverpool legend John Barnes
The Citizens head into tomorrow’s showdown seven points behind the Reds after dropping points against Crystal Palace and Leicester .
And Barnes believes Pep Guardiola’s side are struggling because they are being pushed all the way by Jurgen Klopp and his Anfield stars.
Speaking exclusively to bookmaker comparison platform BonusCodeBets.co.uk , he said: “Manchester City are still the favourites to catch Liverpool, rather than Tottenham. They have great players, a great team. “Last year, they didn’t have to play with pressure. The two times they had to play with pressure was at home to win the league against Manchester United and they lost, and then against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final and they lost.
“I always felt that this Manchester City team are the best team, possibly in the world and certainly in the country when everything is going well.
“When they’re 10 points clear, they play with freedom. Put them under pressure and we don’t know how they’re going to perform.
“All of a sudden Liverpool are a few points ahead of them and now they have to perform. That is one thing I would throw against them, the character that they have when things aren’t going well.”
Barnes believes Liverpool can ride a wave of confidence if they beat the Citizens in Manchester tomorrow but cannot take their eyes of the prize.
He added: “I’d make Liverpool favourites. It’s not necessarily ‘theirs to lose’, I think the Premier League is so difficult now.
“Once upon a time, the top five teams weren’t necessarily going to drop points, but these days you can see with Crystal Palace and Leicester beating City, that can actually happen.
“If Liverpool beat City, then when they play against the lesser teams, because of the confidence and intensity they’re playing with, they will confidently go on to win the league.
“Numerically, it’s theirs to lose in terms of numbers they have on the board, but in terms of the difficulty of the competition, it’s definitely not finished.
“If they were six points ahead coming into April, then obviously it would be, so for now I make them favourites, but it’s not a forgone conclusion.”
Barnes claimed that part of City’s problem was an over-reliance on Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne , who have both struggled with injuries this season.
He explained: “What Jurgen Klopp has created at Liverpool, no matter who plays, they are accountable to put in a performance.
“Regardless of whether Shaqiri plays instead of Mane, or whether its Alexander Arnold or James Milner going to right-back, they are still expected to put in a performance.
“Which is why I have faith in Liverpool now because you can see with Man City, when De Bruyne doesn’t perform or Aguero, they’ve got a huge squad so maybe performances just drop off.
“For all their intricate play, they need someone to put it in the back of the net and that’s Aguero.
“De Bruyne is their most influential player in terms of what they create, but for me, they still need Aguero to finish all those chances off.”
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