Man City v Liverpool: A game which staggers under weight of its own significance

[Hossam Taibi]

Manchester City's meeting with Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on Thursday has the capacity to become the Premier League title race's decisive moment.

The stakes are at their highest for all involved, particularly managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool have pulled away to open up a seven-point gap over City as the season reaches the turn for home, after the champions suffered three defeats in four league games before restoring stability with victory at Southampton on Sunday.

Tottenham cannot be ruled out of the race and have now muscled between the two long-time pacesetters into second place after their convincing 3-0 win at Cardiff City but this is without question the most eagerly-awaited league game of the season with potentially far-reaching ramifications.

Guardiola will know defeat is not an option for City. If they lose then all statistics and logic suggest it will take a Liverpool collapse on a scale that looks simply unforeseeable to revive City's hopes of a second successive title.

The Premier League season is packed with imponderables but a Liverpool win would effectively mean they must lose at least three of their last 17 games, having lost none of their previous 21. And that's assuming City go undefeated.

Liverpool's fixture list also looks favourable. After Thursday they will have only three of the top six left to play, with two of those games - against Chelsea and Tottenham - at Anfield.

A draw against City would suit Liverpool more but history tells us this approach will not enter Klopp's head.

The stakes are at their highest for all involved, particularly managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool have pulled away to open up a seven-point gap over City as the season reaches the turn for home, after the champions suffered three defeats in four league games before restoring stability with victory at Southampton on Sunday.

Tottenham cannot be ruled out of the race and have now muscled between the two long-time pacesetters into second place after their convincing 3-0 win at Cardiff City but this is without question the most eagerly-awaited league game of the season with potentially far-reaching ramifications.

Guardiola will know defeat is not an option for City. If they lose then all statistics and logic suggest it will take a Liverpool collapse on a scale that looks simply unforeseeable to revive City's hopes of a second successive title.

The Premier League season is packed with imponderables but a Liverpool win would effectively mean they must lose at least three of their last 17 games, having lost none of their previous 21. And that's assuming City go undefeated.

Liverpool's fixture list also looks favourable. After Thursday they will have only three of the top six left to play, with two of those games - against Chelsea and Tottenham - at Anfield.

A draw against City would suit Liverpool more but history tells us this approach will not enter Klopp's head.