IF ever there was a game to put a smile on your face, it’s the mouth-watering one at Anfield this afternoon.
But trying to pick a winner between Liverpool and Manchester City keeps bringing me to the same conclusion . . . I’ll never have a go at the missus for changing her mind again!
ReutersEither Liverpool chief Jurgen Klopp or Man City manager Pep Guardiola might not be smiling like this come Sunday evening[/caption]
ReutersPhil Foden has been this season’s best player, says Harry Redknapp[/caption]
Or take the mickey when it comes to making a decision, either.
Because I have to admit I’m guilty of both when it comes to this one.
Try as I might, I really can’t split the two of them . . . so in the end I’ve decided it will be a point apiece for Liverpool and City.
Which wouldn’t be a bad result for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, either, because I reckon his team will still be in the mix right to the end — whatever anyone else might think.
The way City and Liverpool are playing right now, dropped points have become as rare as a weekend without a dodgy VAR decision.
Both are picking up wins for fun, which leaves me scratching my head about who will be Premier League champions every time I watch them.
One minute Liverpool are nicking another last-minute winner despite all their injuries — and I’m thinking nothing can stop them in this mood.
The next day I see how City just carried on playing with no panic after going 1-0 down in the Manchester derby — and I’m going, ‘My God, they’re fantastic’.
Then 24 hours later it was Arsenal’s turn to run riot, when they put six past Sheffield United.
GettyHarry Redknapp admits it’s a tough match to call[/caption]
Considering everyone thought they’d blown it when they lost to West Ham and Fulham a few months back, no one’s going to make the same mistake and write them off again.
This year we have a genuine three-horse race and, looking further ahead to the summer, England have surely GOT to win the Euros when you see that bunch of players.
I was in Spain last weekend and everyone was telling me, ‘Your team is fantastic’.
Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, John Stones, Declan Rice, Kyle Walker . . . who can match that? For me, England are on another level to anyone else in the tournament.
But all that is for another day. This afternoon it’s all about Anfield — and the chance for someone to make a massive statement.
The bookies have City as slight favourites and it’s hard to argue. I think they’re the best team in the world and agree with boss Pep Guardiola that Foden is the star of the season.
But Mo Salah is back for the Reds, Darwin Nunez is fit and flying and we all know what can happen with that crowd behind them.
I don’t see it as a problem for City — they’ve been in Champions League finals — but a packed Anfield has lifted Jurgen Klopp’s team to great things before.
It could come down to a flash of brilliance from Salah, Foden or Kevin De Bruyne, maybe a half chance for Nunez or Erling Haaland.
AlamyA flash of brilliance from someone like Mo Salah could settle it[/caption]
To think people were making a big thing of it when Haaland went four games without a goal recently. Seven in his last three wasn’t a bad way to answer that!
I do think Jack Grealish is a big miss for Pep’s men because as fast as Jeremy Doku is, they don’t get half the end product from him.
And although Conor Bradley is no Trent Alexander-Arnold, the kid is a very solid defender — and getting better all the time.
For once, I really can’t pick a winner. Yes, Liverpool could turn them over, but if City are on it they can beat anyone in an instant.
So if I had to put my life on it, I’d have to go for a draw. Nowhere near a boring, negative one with two teams tip-toeing around each other, though.
They’ll go for it and the football will be fantastic — it can’t be anything else with this pair.
This race is going to the wire . . . and I’ll change my mind half a dozen times before we get there.