Liverpool vs Man City: TRUTH emerges over Rodri ahead of Anfield clash

The biggest game of the season is here as Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield. And the Reds have reason to be incredibly confident.

Liverpool welcome Manchester City to Anfield knowing that a win puts them 11 points clear of the champions. Arsenal would be left as the nearest challengers - and they would be nine points back.

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But those are if Liverpool win. The Reds still need to overcome a dangerous team, albeit one in awful form.

City haven't won in five fixtures, with defeats in their last three in the Premier League. It's an unprecedented struggle for Pep Guardiola as his all-conquering side fails over and over again.

And while reasons for poor form are usually very nuanced, there does appear to be a reason for this one. It's one Liverpool will exploit.

Liverpool to exploit Man City weakness

The truth is, Rodri isn't just a key player for Man City - he's the one who keeps them together. WIthout him, Guardiola's side struggle badly.

And that can be explained with one truly ridiculous statistic.

Since Rodri's injury against Arsenal, City have faced the most big changes in the Premier League. A 'big' chance is one where the shooting player is reasonably expected to score.

So City are currently giving up more of these chances than anyone. Not just more than usual, not just more than other title challengers - more than any team in the Premier League, including those battling relegation.

And to make this situation even nicer, there's the fact that Liverpool create more big chances than any other team in the Premier League. That's a stat that still holds true despite the Reds playing one game fewer than their nearest rivals.

This one is shaping up massively in Liverpool's favour, then. If things play out as expected, the Reds should win it comfortably.

Not that we can always rely on everything to go to plan.

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