An Irish rhythm to Mersey beat

Tomorrow’s meeting of Liverpool and Manchester City is probably the most eagerly anticipated Premier League game for neutrals this season, as England’s two highest-scoring teams meet in a game which will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the 2014 title race.

With 90 goals, Liverpool have six more than City, but the latter’s goals-against record, at 29, is considerably meaner than their opponents’, at 40. The stats alone, therefore, point to a goal-fest at Anfield which, given football’s proven ability to confound expectations and make fools of us all, suggests everyone should pile on at odds of 7/4 for a scoreless draw.

Unlikely, perhaps, but then you’d have gotten longer odds on Liverpool being top of the table with five games to go back at the start of the season, when Luis Suarez was contemplating a big chunk being taken out of his campaign and Steven Gerrard was talking about a top- four finish as the height of the team’s ambition.