Luis Garcia has gone against the grain and backed Liverpool to come out on top in their FA Cup quarter-final with Manchester City on Saturday.
Reds fans are feeling gloomy heading into the match, with the pre-international break defeat against Brighton still fresh in the memory.
A trip to City does not offer much respite, but according to former Liverpool player Garcia, Pep Guardiola’s team are not infallible and can be beaten.
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Dominik Szoboszlai fouls Erling Haaland which resulted in a red card at the end of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City
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Liverpool could profit from Man City’s inconsistency
To make matters worse for Liverpool, City should come back from their international duties on a real high having beaten Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final just before the break.
However, they are still some way behind the Gunners in the Premier League title race, and according to Garcia, the inconsistencies of Guardiola’s side – as well as their recent hammering from Real Madrid – should give Liverpool hope.
“As you know, I’m very positive,” the Spaniard told ESPN FC. “I cannot see any reason why Liverpool cannot go there and win.
“If you tell me that Man City’s been the most consistent team in the whole year, I would agree and say we’re not going to win, but the way that I see it is these kinds of games are so difficult to call, difficult to predict.”
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Marc Guehi battles for the ball with Mohamed Salah during Manchester City's Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield
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“If you tell me you’re 100 per cent sure that Man City’s going to win it, okay I’ll give it to you, but Man City were battered by Real Madrid not long ago, we’ve been commenting on Real Madrid for a long time and we know what they’re all about.
“Why can Liverpool not beat them? I prefer to think they can do it, 2-1, I’m not saying it’ll be a 5-1, but that’s my belief, that’s the way I see it, and I can assure that you can’t tell me [for certain] either way that Man City’s going to win.”
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To add to Liverpool’s trepidation about visiting the Etihad, they have already been beaten twice by City this season.
As Arne Slot said in the build-up to the game, the 3-0 defeat in Manchester last November was one of Liverpool’s worst performances of the year.
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Luis Enrique arrives at Parc des Princes ahead of Paris Saint Germain's UEFA Champions League match against Brest (Credit: Getty Images/Dan Mullan - UEFA). Jurgen Klopp pictured at Anfield ahead of Liverpool Legends' match against Borussia Dortmund Legends (Credit: Getty Images/PETER POWELL / AFP).
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On that day – and again at Anfield in February – City showed how they are still such a difficult team to play against.
Nevertheless, the Reds did have some joy in both fixtures. They should have been level before half-time at the Etihad but for a poor refereeing decision, and the game could have been different had Virgil van Dijk’s goal counted.
At Anfield, the second-half display was as good as Liverpool have been all season. When their pressing intensity returned and the crowd got behind them, Slot’s team looked the better of the two sides.
Obviously, they will not be able to count on the Anfield factor on Saturday, but having won away in Manchester last season, Slot does have a blueprint to work from. No doubt he will be going over that match in its minutiae to decipher how Liverpool can pick up a similar result against the odds.
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