"They have had it their own way for so long" - Chris Sutton makes bold prediction for Liverpool vs Manchester City

Pundit Chris Sutton has predicted that Liverpool will hammer an out-of-form Manchester City in the two heavyweight sides' upcoming clash in the Premier League. The 51-year-old, who played as a striker for the likes of Chelsea and Celtic, made the prediction in his column for BBC.

Liverpool have started the Arne Slot era on a high, sitting atop the Premier League and Champions League standings with just one loss all season. Meanwhile, despite sitting second in the EPL standings, Manchester City have looked shaky throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

Given the Reds' incredible free-flowing play and City's inconsistencies, Sutton had no hesitation while predicting the result of their all-important clash. He wrote (via BBC):

"You look through their team and it makes me want to stick to my mantra from the past few weeks, which is that City will respond and remind us how good they are. We all know how good they can be and you could never rule out, say, Phil Foden coming good, or Erling Haaland putting in a big performance."

"The problem with that thought process is that there just doesn't seem much to suggest that will happen at Anfield. So I just don't see them bouncing back against Liverpool. I think the intensity that they played with against Madrid (2-0 win for the Reds, November 27) will be too much for City, and I am expecting Slot's side to repeat that."

"Because City have been so dominant in the Premier League, there will be a lot of people out there who would be happy to see Liverpool win the title this season. I would be one of them. That is nothing against City or their fans, it is only because they have had it their own way for so long," Sutton added, predicting a 4-1 win for the Reds.

The highly-anticipated clash between Manchester City and Liverpool, a potential early-season title decider, will be played at Anfield on December 1.

Manchester City and Liverpool are on contrasting runs of form at the moment

Going into the game, Manchester City look completely out of sorts. The Cityzens recently lost five games in a row for the first time since April 2006 (2-1 and 4-0 to Tottenham, 2-1 to Bournemouth and Brighton, 4-1 to Sporting CP).

The run also marked the first time the Spaniard tasted defeat in five straight games in his managerial career. In their first game after the losing streak, they led Feyenoord 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League, only to concede three in the last 15 minutes and draw 3-3.

On the other hand, Liverpool are on an incredible run under new manager Arne Slot. They have dropped points in just two games all season - in a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest (September 14) and a 2-2 draw against Arsenal (October 27).

The Reds have scored 44 and conceded just 12 goals in 19 games thus far, keeping nine clean sheets in the process. Given the two teams' contrasting runs of form, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in the blockbuster fixture.