Man City are up against Liverpool on Saturday The winner will make it to the FA Cup semi-finals Chris Sutton has predicted who will win.
Chris Sutton has made his prediction for Manchester City’s upcoming match against Liverpool and he does not expect Pep Guardiola to mess around.
Manchester City’s team selections have varied a lot in recent weeks, based on the competition and level of opposition.
Guardiola chose a strong team to face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, but there were some big omissions.
James Trafford started ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma, while Nathan Ake was included on the team. Of course, the Dutchman’s start was due to the unavailability of Marc Guehi and Ruben Dias. Still, it was certainly an interesting call to play his second choice goalkeeper.
Chris Sutton predicts Pep Guardiola to take FA Cup tie seriously
According to Chris Sutton, Guardiola always treats the FA Cup as a competition which matters, so he should field a strong team against Liverpool.
When combining this factor with the Reds’ poor form, it seems clear to Sutton that City will get the win this Saturday.
“Right now, Liverpool are miles off the team they were last season and beating City probably feels more achievable than getting past PSG,” Sutton told Chris Sutton.
“I’m not convinced they will do it though, and if they end up going out of both competitions in the space of 10 days then the Liverpool fans are going to be even more disgruntled.
“City are already out of Europe, and it will be hard, but not impossible, for them to win the Premier League from here, but Pep has already landed the Carabao Cup and he always takes the FA Cup seriously anyway,” he continued.
“They are looking to extend their own record by reaching the semi-final for the eighth successive season and, if they get to the final, they will be the first team to make it to four in a row.
“City could really do with getting Erling Haaland firing again, while this is Liverpool’s first game since Mohamed Salah announced he will be leaving at the end of the season.”
The ex-Premier League striker added: “There are so many different ways to look at this tie, and who might step up to win it for either team, but City are at home and they have also beaten Liverpool twice already this season in the league. I just have a feeling they will take this one as well.”
Sutton’s prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool
The FA Cup will mean a lot to Man City
Sutton has highlighted how Guardiola takes the FA Cup seriously and he has all the more reason to do so after recent events.
Man City have fallen away in the Premier League title race and were brutally dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
This makes an FA Cup triumph all the more important for the Citizens. Plus, the club’s trophy cabinet would look even better after their Carabao Cup success.
