This afternoon’s battle at Anfield is one of those games that the expression ‘mouth watering’ was invented to describe.

Table-topping Liverpool take on third-placed Manchester City in what is widely being seen as this season’s title decider.

Of course, that is being more than a little unfair on second-placed Chelsea who are still in the running despite Jose Mourinho’s slightly deluded claims to the contrary.

And it also doesn’t take into account the wildly unpredictable nature of the Premier League – shock results are never too far away.

Yet despite that, the general consensus remains that if either team triumphs in this afternoon’s clash, the title is theirs to lose.

Uniquely, both sides know their destiny is in their own hands: win all their remaining games, this afternoon included, and they will be crowned champions. Simple as that.

In terms of who is more likely to triumph today, it is genuinely too close to call. We are talking about two teams that have their individual styles but which are otherwise evenly matched.

Liverpool have onething on their side which could make the difference: hunger

Home advantage will obviously work in Liverpool’s favour – Anfield is a daunting place for opponents under normal circumstances… throw in the small matter of a title challenge and it will be an absolute cauldron of passion. But home advantage could be counterbalanced by the fact that City’s players have more experience of the pressure that comes with fighting for top place.

Yet despite there being no favourite which jumps out and screams ‘back me!”, I can’t help but feel Liverpool have one thing on their side which could make the difference: hunger.

Whereas City were champions the season before last, Liverpool are looking to end 24 years of hurt, a phenomenal amount of time for a team of their pedigree to go without a title.

I’m not suggesting Manuel Pellegrini and his players don’t want to win the Premiership. Of course they do. In fact I would go as far as to say the manager needs to win the title if his first season in charge is not to be viewed as a failure.

But Liverpool’s players want to get their hands on the trophy with a passion and desire that can only be born out of two-and-a-half decades of frustration.

Players like Steven Gerrard have been loyal to a fault. There must have been numerous occasions when he toyed with the idea of moving to a club that could offer him a title. But he didn’t.

Now, as his brilliant career draws to a close, he will be desperate beyond belief to be captain of the team that ends that barren quarter of a century. And it is that hunger and desire that could well give Liverpool the edge, not only today but in the four games that follow.

I will resist the temptation of making a definite prediction on either this afternoon’s game or the title race as a whole – I don’t fancy the torrent of abuse that would follow when it inevitably goes wrong.

But I will nail my colours to the mast and say that, as a neutral, I am rooting for Liverpool today and overall. I think they deserve it and a triumph for a young British manager with a team built at a comparatively reasonable price would be good for the English game as a whole.

Au revoir United

I always felt that one of the two remaining English teams in the Champions League would make it through to the semis, and for once my hunch was right.

Considering their respective opponents, venues and first-leg scorelines, Chelsea were always more likely to be that team, and they did indeed battle through to set up an intriguing semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

It’s going to be tough for Mourinho to win the competition this year, but when you get down to the last four of any contest it becomes more about tactics and approach than overall ability. It’s anyone’s game.

Manchester United, meanwhile, bowed out of the Champions League and are highly unlikely to be back in it until the season after next at the very earliest.

That is obviously a bitter pill for the club and its fans to swallow but it might, in the long-term at least, turn out to be a blessing in disguise. A spell away from Europe’s top table will give the club time to regroup, rebuild and revitalise itself without the added pressure and attention the Champions League brings.

Will David Moyes be the man entrusted to head that process? I’m still reasonably positive the answer to that is yes.

There have been signs in recent weeks that he just might be getting his act together and coming to terms with huge step up the managerial ladder he took last summer.

Keep Wembley sacred

If you thought there was only one massive game today then you would be wrong. Well, actually you would be right. Unless, that is, you happen to support Hull City or Sheffield United.

These two go head-to-head today at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final for the right to play Arsenal or Wigan Athletic in the final. (I was going to assume it would be Arsenal, but then I realised that would be an assumption too far).

Hull will be looking to get past the semis for the first time in their history, quite an incentive for Steve Bruce and his boys. United may have won the competition four times but the last of those came in 1925 and they haven’t made it to the final since 1936.

Yet despite the Blades having the better cup pedigree (albeit from the days when football was played in black and white and using a ball made out of a lump of cow), they go into this afternoon’s game as massive underdogs. After all, it’s a League One team up against a Premier League outfit. Should be a no contest.

Then again, United also went into most of the other rounds as underdogs but that didn’t stop them knocking out Aston Villa, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Charlton on their march to Wembley.

Which brings me to a point I have raised before which I would like to make again – Even though it has given my team the opportunity to play at Wembley I still feel it is wrong that the FA Cup semi-finals are held there.

Football’s spiritual home should be reserved for the final. Reaching Wembley should be something teams in the semi-finals aspire too. It should be part of the reward for being one of the two remaining teams in the world’s greatest knockout competition.

Holding the semis there may mean more fans can watch the games than if they were at Old Trafford, for example. But, in my opinion, it devalues the whole Wembley experience when you use the place too often.

Anyway, back to today’s match. I have deliberately not written about United’s excellent cup run so far, not wanting to jinx it. But, as I seriously doubt we will get past Hull I needed to say how proud I am that United made it this far.

Even if (when) we are knocked out this afternoon, getting to a semi is a tremendous achievement for a team that was bottom of League One just a few months ago.

Runs like United’s prove the magic of the cup is still alive and kicking.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade