This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
MAN City are without doubt the biggest threat to our hopes of finishing fourth this season and it's a massive game at Eastlands tomorrow, writes Kop hero John Aldridge.
I think Aston Villa and Spurs will fall away in the race for Champions League qualification, but City have the firepower to keep pressing to the end.
I know City are a point clear of us with a game in hand, but I still think a draw would be a decent result for the Reds.
Looking at the fixtures to come, we've got a more favourable run-in than theirs.
City have got to go to the likes of Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal, while they've also got Manchester United and Villa at home. Like ours, City's away form has been patchy so there will be plenty more twists and turns.
What we can't afford to do is go there and play like the way we did at Wolves or Stoke.
We've got to be more positive than that.
City are great going forward and we all know what a threat Emmanuel Adebayor can be, but they are vulnerable at the back.
That's their Achilles heel and we have to ensure we get our set-plays spot on.
I know City have spent a lot of cash but I believe there is more pressure on us in the race for fourth place.
Liverpool's financial situation means Champions League football is absolutely vital and the repercussions for not achieving that are massive.
David Ngog got the winner against Unirea Urziceni in midweek but Rafa Benitez has a big decision to make.
Ngog has struggled away from home this season and he had a tough night against the Romanians before the goal went in.
You can't question his work-rate but I still think you need someone more forceful up there.
Ryan Babel did well when he came on and he might be a better bet playing down the middle as he's stronger than Ngog.
Babel's lack of defensive qualities means that when he plays out wide he can leave you exposed, but he could hurt City with his pace.
It was a disappointing performance against Unirea Urziceni.
We kept battling but we can't keep grinding out 1-0 wins. We need more quality and creativity if we're going to achieve anything.
We desperately need Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres back to give us that.
The spirit was epitomised by the Jamie Carragher, Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard and the two centre-backs. But we just didn't look like there were goals in us.
Unirea got men behind the ball and made it difficult. They came to get a 0-0 and nearly got it.
I was pleased to see Daniel Pacheco get a chance off the bench and he played a key role in the goal.
I fully expect us to finish the job in Bucharest next Thursday. They will have to play a bit more and that will suit us as we'll hit them on the counter-attack.
I was in Portugal this week watching Porto play Arsenal and I must admit I had to laugh at the home side's controversial winner.
Referee Martin Hansson is the same official who missed Thierry Henry's blatant handball in France's win against Ireland in the World Cup play-off last year. This time it was Frenchman Arsene Wenger fuming at the Swede after the ref's 'assist' for the goal.
What's that old saying about what goes around comes around?
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
Tagged: Aldridge , City , John Aldridge , Man City , Manchester City