Steve McManaman on Man City vs Liverpool: It's a must-not-lose clash for Man City in the title race... but Liverpool must raise their game as they can do against Pep's side if they want to attract Bellingham

Saturday lunchtime sees a huge clash in the Premier League exclusively live on BT Sport as the two teams who've contested the Premier League over the past few seasons meet at the Etihad.

The previous five titles in England's top flight have gone to either Manchester City or Liverpool with Pep Guardiola's men claiming four and Jurgen Klopp's winning it once.

And while this season Liverpool are a remarkable 27 points off the pace set by Arsenal and out of the title race, Man City are very much in the hunt as they look to close the gap at the top to five points ahead of The Gunners' meeting with Leeds.

Liverpool, who recorded a shock 1-0 win over Man City at Anfield back in October, can have a huge say in the title race with Saturday's game against the defending champions preceding a clash at home to Arsenal on Easter Sunday.

And Steve McManaman, who started his career at Anfield and spent nine years there as a player while also later featuring for Man City, believes both teams need the points as badly as each other.

"It's a huge game," the BT Sport pundit says. "Man City are chasing down Arsenal but Liverpool badly need something for the Champions League race.

"The two managers know each other so well... the games at Anfield have generally seen Liverpool go into it as favourites but with Man City at home on Saturday they'll be favourites."

Should Man City suffer a defeat to Liverpool, Arsenal would have the chance to go 11 points clear having played a game more if they beat Leeds at home later on Saturday afternoon.

It's a margin that Man City clawed back following a few poor results for Arsenal, including a win for Man City at the Emirates, before Mikel Arteta's men responded by pulling away once again.

But this time with 10 games remaining for Guardiola's side after the clash with Liverpool, McManaman believes another three-point swing might open up too much of a gap between Arsenal and the chasing pack.

"I think there's enough games left that it's not a must-win game for Man City - Arsenal still have to go to Man City plus Arsenal will go to Liverpool the week after - but it's definitely a must-not-lose game for them," McManaman adds.

From Liverpool's perspective, Klopp's side have been chalk-and-cheese at home and away this term with some outstanding performances at Anfield yet some horrible displays while on the road.

The Reds looked to be building up some momentum after a victory over Wolves before the remarkable 7-0 destruction of Manchester United on home turf.

But they came crashing back down to earth with a limp, lifeless display in a 1-0 defeat away at Bournemouth the following weekend and such swings in fortune have been the story of the 2022/23 season for Liverpool.

In their last six home league games they've won five, yet in the previous half-dozen they've won just once in a run that's included the loss to Bournemouth and reverses to Brighton and Brentford.

So while Liverpool beat Man City at Anfield thanks to Mohamed Salah's late winner, it is no indication of a similar outcome when the sides meet in east Manchester on Saturday.

"Nobody knows why Liverpool have been so up-and-down this season," McManaman admits. "If we did, we'd be top Premier League managers!

"Who knows how they can beat Man City and Man United - 7-0 - at home and then lose to the likes of Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, nobody knows what it is.

"But they'll need to raise their game again against Manchester City because it's the start of a huge week for them with Chelsea and Arsenal coming up on the Tuesday and Sunday afterwards."

And McManaman believes Liverpool need to win games and get into the top four - which they are seven points off currently - if they are to lure the game's biggest future stars such as Borussia Dortmund's coveted England midfielder Jude Bellingham to Anfield.

"If they want to attract players like Bellingham, they have to be in the Champions League," McManaman adds. "And they will want to start off a massive week like this with a big result against Man City."

"It's two teams who play high intensity football with brilliant players who both want to win games," McManaman says. "Both teams want to come out and attack so you can see why there's always goals."

"Pep and Jurgen know each other so well, they have a huge admiration for each other even from their time coaching in Germany... sometimes it's a case of whoever scores the first goal will go onto win."

It's all set up for a thrilling clash at the Etihad and you can watch the action unfold exclusively live on BT Sport 1HD this Saturday with coverage beginning at 11.30am.