Man City already know how to beat Liverpool FC's title race advantage

The psychology of football is a very complicated subject and Manchester City’s mental resolve will be tested to the limit over the coming weeks.

Liverpool have been scheduled to play ahead of their Premier League title rivals for the next three weeks. It’s been a trend of countless title races between the two sides: City put on the pressure first, Liverpool respond with a win, Liverpool does the same, City also win.

So, when is actually the best time to play in an intense title race – first or second? To analyse this, let’s look back at how the mouth-watering 2018/19 run-in played out.

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By matchday 30, Manchester City had clawed themselves back from an eight-point lead deficit to sit one point ahead after Liverpool had dropped points away at rivals Manchester United and Everton in consecutive away games. With any other candidates already fallen away, it was clear one of these two sides were going to be lifting the trophy come May.

To add to the mounting title race tension, City and Liverpool’s final league games were disrupted by the former's participation in the FA Cup, and both sides' progression in the Champions League. For the final eight games, City played first on four occasions, with Jurgen Klopp’s side setting the pace the other four weeks. However, the timing of the games is where this is the most significant.

Pep Guardiola’s side tended to play first towards the beginning of the run-in, with victories over Watford, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Tottenham coming directly before Liverpool’s wins against Burnley, Tottenham, Chelsea and Cardiff. Every one of those games was, of course, as gritty as you’d expect. However, for the