Having brought all three points from Stamford Bridge, Liverpool are hoping to beat another title contender when they play host to in-form Manchester City.

The Reds have now beaten Arsenal and Chelsea on the travels, while sharing spoils with Manchester United at home, which clearly proves they are good enough to match the best sides in the Premiership.

However, they have dropped too many points against bottom-table sides, with slip ups against Sunderland, Norwich and Swansea likely to cost them dearly come end of the season.

The Reds are unbeaten in last seven Premier League games and currently sit just three points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United, so odds of 2.62 (13/8) offered by Victor Chandler on Liverpool to finish in top 4 do look tempting.

Kenny Dalglish’s side now have a chance to inflict the first defeat of the campaign on Manchester City and they are 2.88 (17/9) with Ladbrokes to do so.

Jamie Carragher and Stuart Downing are pushing for starting places, but Steven Gerrard remains sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Reina – Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher, Enrique – Henderson, Lucas, Adam, Downing – Kuyt, Suarez.

Manchester City may have been thoroughly impressive throughout the league campaign, but they have just suffered a big blow in the Champions League and we have yet to see how they are going to react.

The 2:1 defeat to Napoli in midweek not only ended the nine-match winning run, but also left the Citizens on the brink of Champions League elimination.

City cannot afford to be thinking about their final group game against Bayern as the clash with Liverpool can have a big effect on their Premier League title bid.

Should Roberto Mancini’s side beat Liverpool, and they are 2.70 (17/10) with Stan James to do so, they will keep the five-point advantage at the top and remain the main candidates for the coveted trophy.

If they happen to lose, the pressure after two successive defeats could be too much to bear and such a result would definitely act as a big blow to the players’ confidence.

This is why Mancini was happy to hear that Mario Balotelli has recovered from fever, meaning that he will have full squad to choose from.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Hart – Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy – Y. Toure, Barry – Aguero, Silva, Nasri – Balotelli.