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Former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie believes Manchester City defender John Stones' injury will be a huge boost for Liverpool. Both teams are engaged in a fierce battle for the Premier League title.
The defender picked up a knock during the warm-up before England's game against Switzerland at the weekend. McAvennie heaped praise on Stones and said that his absence will have a huge impact on the title race. He told Football Insider:
"It’s a blow for Stones but it’s a big boost for Liverpool. They are going to be up for that game and any weakness Man City show, Liverpool are going to go for it. Stones hasn’t been that big of a player this season but he’s come back in recent weeks. We know how good of a defender he is so City will be hoping he’s fit."
Liverpool travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City on April 10th in what will be a crucial game in the Premier League title race. McAvennie stated that the Reds will be confident going into the game if they come up against a weakened City team. He said:
"Liverpool are going to arrive with a full-strength attack and they will have a spring in their step if they see any of the key players missing."
The Reds are currently second in the league, one point behind Manchester City at the top of the table after 29 matches. Jurgen Klopp's side will know that if they win their remaining nine games, they will be crowned Premier League champions.
"We have to win our football games" - Liverpool manager Klopp on title race against Manchester City
Earlier this month Klopp spoke about the final run of league games this season and how his side will have to approach each of them as finals. He said:
"That is the plan, of course, that we keep being as annoying as possible but we have to win our football games. If I sit here and say we win 10 games that doesn’t sound very likely but as long as it is possible, we will give it a proper try I can tell you."
Klopp added:
"If you go through the last few years, it never looked different. Not sure how many years in my whole career were where we had not to go with all we had until the last matchday because something was there to grab."
The Reds will take on Watford at home in their next league match, while Manchester City will face Burnley at Turf Moor.
