Manchester City vs Liverpool Carling Cup Betting Preview

Manchester City have a lot to do as they prepare for their crunch-clash with a resurgent Liverpool – buoyed by the return of their talisman Steven Gerrard. The bookmakers are getting ready for this one and punters can expect plenty of money-back specials and bonuses for the match featuring these two powerhouse sides.

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This being only the first leg, you can tell that City will likely not come out of the gates flying and will instead try to wear Liverpool down and impose their authority through pressure and control in the midfield.

Things are certainly complicated a bit more now for City thanks to the fact that Vincent Kompany failed to have his ban reduced or rescinded after picking up a four match ban at Manchester United in a controversial call. Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and David Silva are all doubt for this one and you can expect extra pressure on Sergio Aguero.

Liverpool last played against Oldham and were able to rest a number of their top stars. Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique, Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel will all be reinstated to the lineup along with the aforementioned Steven Gerrard.

Punters will find Manchester City trading at nearly odds-on for this one with an 11/10 price tag from most major bookmakers. The Reds are priced at 11/4 and look good value for the upset. A draw pays out at 11/5 and you get the feeling that plenty of Liverpool supporters would be happy to take a drawn tie back to Anfield – particularly with a few crucial away goals in the mix.

Sergio Aguero is going to be the go-to-guy for City and he's short-priced at 5/1 for the opening goal. Since many of the usual suspects in City's scoring line-up are absent for this one, you can probably do well to back Aguero or get a bit more creative. Take a look at Adam Johnson should he get the start, and you can also expect Samir Nasri to compliment Aguero up front in a slightly withdrawn role.