Table shows Liverpool and Man City separated by a single Premier League point over last four years

The Premier League run-in is set to go down to the wire once again, with Liverpool and Manchester City so closely matched.
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The Premier League title race is set to go down to the wire once again as Liverpool and Manchester City go toe-to-toe - but a recent graphic on Match of The Day has highlighted just how closely matched the two sides are.

Sunday saw the two contenders face off in what was widely billed as a ‘title decider’, but a thrilling 2-2 draw leaves both sides firmly in the race.

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Pep Guardiola’s side are just a point ahead of Liverpool - having been as far as 12 points ahead in February - and have lost just once in 21 games, whereas the Reds haven’t been beaten in 12, winning a ridiculous 10-in-a-row before the draw at the Etihad.

The records of either side and the points difference that seperates them from the pack - 11 points off third-placed Chelsea and 16 ahead of fourth-placed Spurs - emphasises just how superior they are.

But the accumulation of points since the beginning of the 2018/2019 season proves just how inseperable these two great teams have been.

Image: MOTDImage: MOTD
Image: MOTD

They have each played 145 games since the start of the 18/19 season, with Manchester City racking up 339 points and Jurgen Klopp’s men unimaginably close with 338.

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The two sit 72 and 71 points clear of Chelsea respectively, with Jermaine Jenas describing the two as ‘so far ahead’.

“You watch those two teams, they’re so far clear of anything else that you can see.” Jenas said.

“So you look at those fixtures and they look like tough fixtures but they are so far ahead.

“You look at [the result] and you don’t know how to feel, you don’t know whetehr you’re looking at it and saying City missed one there or Liverpool have missed one there.

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“It’s so tight, it could go either way, all i know is we were treated to an unbelievable game of football.”

Alan Shearer added that the distance between them and the chasing pack is ‘frightening’.

Nothing to seperate the two this season

Sunday’s 2-2 draw was a mirror image of the reverse fixture at Anfield in which goals from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were twice cancelled out by equalisers from Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne.

And as the table stands there is almost nothing to seperate their respective campaigns.

Liverpool and Manchester City also drew 2-2 at Anfield in October, with goals from Sadio Mane and Mo Salah twice cancelled out by Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne.  Liverpool and Manchester City also drew 2-2 at Anfield in October, with goals from Sadio Mane and Mo Salah twice cancelled out by Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne.
Liverpool and Manchester City also drew 2-2 at Anfield in October, with goals from Sadio Mane and Mo Salah twice cancelled out by Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne.
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Manchester City have hit 72 goals in their 31 games at a rate of 2.26 per 90 minutes, while Liverpool rank ever-so-slightly higher with 79 goals at a rate of 2.55.

But Guardiola’s men have been a touch harder to score against, conceding 20 goals compared to Liverpool’s 22 - both have kept 18 clean sheets which is four more than third-placed Chelsea.

And the similarities go deeper between Liverpool and Man City, with the two ranked almost identically for shots per 90 (18.52 vs 18.00), shots on target per 90 (6.35 vs 6.29), key passes per 90 (13.0 vs 13.4) and even nutmegs per 90, where both average 0.90.

The last metric is obviously irrelevant, but the microscopic differences between the two over the course of this season only amplifies the points difference over 145 games.

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Each now have seven games left and if they can continue their form it’s hard to see where points will be dropped.

The only realistic banana skins are the games inbetween the Champions League semi-finals - should they both progress.

That weekend, Liverpool travel to Newcastle United while Manchester City have a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United.

And even if it goes down to goal difference, there’s only a five goal advantage - for Liverpool, that is.