21 min “I meant the Guardian « you », not the Rob Smyth « you »!” says Peter Manno. “Assumed it was just us Americans who don’t get all the games. Thanks!”
You’re welcome!
20 min Salah produces a brillant turn to beat Manga, who does equally well to recover and win the ball. Liverpool’s players are getting a bit tetchy with one another, Robertson in particular.
19 min “Yup,” says Matt Dony. “Darts in top pocket, taking apart my cue, racket in my bag, and taking my football home with me. Stick a fork in the league, it is done. Barcelona, on the other hand. Now, that’s exciting.”
18 min Firmino’s snapshot from the edge of the area is well blocked by Manga.
Manga does enough to put Firmino off his shot on goal. Photograph: David Davies/PA
Updated
15 min: Chance for Cardiff! Mendez-Laing roasts Alexander-Arnold and crosses beyond the far post to Hoilett. His first touch is a bit heavy and that allows Robertson to get across and block the subsequent shot. The resulting corner is palmed away unconvincingly by Alisson and Liverpool break dangerously through Salah, who tries to run Peltier and loses the ball.
Updated
12 min Keita slides a good pass down the inslde-left channel to Mane, who is smartly dispossessed in the area by Morrison.
12 min It’s been a good few minutes for Cardiff, with Niasse starting to look a threat when he pulls out to the left.
11 min “You can’t be bothered to live comment the Arsenal-Palace match?” sniffs Peter Manno.
I did offer to do both games simultaneously, which also writing a feature on the joys of reader interaction, but sadly it’s not on TV.
9 min The pitch is so dry, and if Liverpool don’t win today we will hear plenty about it from Jurgen Klopp.
7 min Cardiff’s first promising attack. Niasse runs Matip down the left and gets into the area, but he overruns the ball and it goes behind for a goalkick.
6 min The atmosphere is brilliant. But Liverpool have started with impressive authority and are completely dominating possession.
Updated
4 min “What do MU fans do on Wed?” says Peter Campbell. “Surely they’d hate to hand Liverpool the chance for their first title in 29yrs. But they also don’t want to lose to City at home or fall further behind for a champions league spot. I think if they’d performed better today MU fans could have stomached a loss to City but not anymore. Thoughts?”
I suspect, despite the contradiction, that most would rather City win the league while also wanting United to break into the odd sprint and not lose on Wednesday.
3 min Liverpool have had all of the ball in the first few minutes, probing for an opening. A very good spot from Gary Neville on Sky – the pitch hasn’t been watered so the ball is moving very slowly.
It’s time for some football. There’s an admirably hostile atmosphere at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Klopp and Warnock shakes hands prior to kick-off. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters
Updated
Matt Dony is putting his darts in his top pocket
“Can I be the first to offer my sincerest congratulations to City for winning the league. I’ll just prepare myself for next season, see what fresh disappointment the 2019/20 season brings. Ah, that’s unfair. This has been far from a disappointment. Liverpool have been brilliant. It’s just that City have been slightly brillianter. I’d love to see Liverpool win all their remaining league games, because 97 points is unbelievable. But, if they absolutely have to drop points, I’d rather see them go to Cardiff than anyone else. I’ve enjoyed having such a good run of Welsh representation in the Premier League. I don’t want to see it end yet. But then, if Liverpool did drop points, and then United pulled something out of the bag on Wednesday, it’d probably break something deep inside me. (Doesn’t seem too likely, though.)”
If City become champions by winning their last 14 games, which I think they will, then a salut indeed. Also: Porto fans know how you (might) feel.
“When it comes to stopping Liverpool, Cardiff have one advantage over Barcelona: no one expects them to play open and attacking football against the world’s deadliest attacking trio just because they’re playing at home (though Warnock being a maverick they still might),” says Phil Podolsky. “As a Barca fan and widely respected tactical mastermind, I would play a double pivot of Busquets and Vidal behind Rakitic & Arthur to be on the safe side. But then Vidal is a chaotic presence and Liverpool thrive on chaos… The quandaries a modern tactician is faced with, I tell ya…”
That tie is going to be immense. I do fancy Liverpool, especially with the second leg at home. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Valverde played a diamond midfield, like he did at Betis a few weeks ago, with Vidal on the left.
The early game has finished Everton 4-0 Manchester United, and the scoreline flatters United. You can read all about it here.
Updated
Still to come department
These are the remaining fixtures for each side after today. Cardiff have a decent chance of staying up, I think, although Fulham away looks a much tougher game than it did three weeks ago.
Cardiff
- Fulham (A)
- Crystal Palace (H)
- Manchester United (A)
Liverpool
- Huddersfield (H)
- Barcelona (A)
- Newcastle (A)
- Barcelona (H)
- Wolves (H)
Team news
Cardiff City (4-2-3-1) Etheridge; Peltier, Morrison, Manga, Bennett; Gunnarsson, Ralls; Hoilett, Camarasa, Mendez-Laing; Niasse.
Substitutes: Smithies, Bacuna, Cunningham, Murphy, Reid, Harris, Zohore.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Substitutes: Mignolet, Gomez, Fabinho, Milner, Sturridge, Shaqiri, Origi.
Referee Martin Atkinson.
Updated
Preamble
This season’s Premier League doesn’t have a title race so much as a a blinking contest. Manchester City have won their last 10 league matches, Liverpool their last five. City last blinked on 29 January, Liverpool on 3 March. The likelihood is that whoever blinks first – if anyone blinks at all – will not win the title.
Pound for pound, this is probably the most relentless Premier League title race since 2001-02. All Liverpool can do is win at Cardiff today and then cheer on their beloved Manchester United against City on Wednesday night. That still seems the game in which City are most likely to drop points – although if United play as they have at Everton this afternoon, City might become the first Premier League team to score 100 goals in a single game.
A Liverpool win today, though likely, is not a formality. Cardiff are desperate for points in their attempt to avoid relegation, and their players should be appropriately motivated by Neil Warnock, a man who has a loathe-hate relationship with Liverpool. He would love it if Cardiff beat them, love it.
If they do, they will move level on points with Brighton, though they would stay in the bottom three on goal difference. A Liverpool win would take them back to the top, though they’ll have played a game more than City. They are running out of time. But at least they’re not blinking.
Kick off is at 4pm.
Updated