MANCHESTER CITY and Liverpool are preparing for yet another blockbuster Premier League title showdown.
With nine games remaining the two sides are separated by just one point – defending champions Man City taking a slim advantage into the last two months of the campaign.
The title run-ins for both Manchester City and Liverpool
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will come head-to-head at the Etihad on April 10 in what could well prove to be a title decider.
But there are also eight more games between now and the end of the season.
SunSport has taken a look at each of their run-ins and established who is best-placed to clinch the Prem crown come May 22.
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Manchester City’s run-in
If Guardiola was to honestly answer which of the two teams’ run-ins he would prefer to have, I’m sure he would stick with his own.
Man City kick things off after the international break with a trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley – a side they have not lost to in 14 meetings.
They then host Liverpool and will be hoping the home crowd can spur them on in a seismic six-pointer.
Home games against a dreadfully out of form Brighton and a struggling Watford come next, before an away game at Leeds rounds off the month of April.
Next up City host Newcastle – a team who have never beaten them at the Etihad in the Premier League.
They then make the tricky trip to London to take on West Ham in what is almost certainly their toughest game left aside from Liverpool.
And if the title race does indeed come down to the final day then Man City will look to overcome Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa – a club Guardiola has beaten on all six occasions since arriving in Manchester.
Among all of those games – as well as their Champions League run and FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool – there is also another Prem match against Wolves which has not yet been given a date.
All in all, City will be the heavy favourites for all of their remaining fixtures aside from the home game against Liverpool.
The away match at West Ham could prove difficult, but there is no doubt their run-in is rather kind.
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Liverpool’s run-in
When you dissect Liverpool’s run-in after taking in Manchester City’s, there is no doubt that Klopp’s men face an uphill task if the club are to win their 20th top flight title.
They kick things off with a fairly routine home game against Watford – but that is where the ‘easy on paper’ fixtures tail off.
The following weekend’s trip to the Etihad is currently the one grabbing the attention because it is the two title rivals facing off against one another.
But Liverpool’s games after that could prove to be just as difficult.
A home match against fourth place-chasing Manchester United comes just five days before the Merseyside Derby – at a time when Everton may still be fighting for survival.
They then travel to Newcastle – a place where they could only manager a goalless draw last season.
Another Champions League-chasing side then come to Anfield in the form of Tottenham.
But their final two matches are a little kinder – Southampton away and Wolves at home.
They also have to go to Villa Park – a game in which Aston Villa boss Gerrard will almost certainly have some conflicting emotions.
Safe to say Liverpool’s three games against the traditional top six – coupled with a more than meaningful Merseyside Derby – makes them rightly the bookmakers outsiders for the title.
But if they can overhaul Man City, it will be one of the greatest title race comebacks of all time.
