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Manchester City to extend Premier League lead to 18 points by beating Liverpool, Bing predicts

Manchester City will increase their lead at the top of the Premier League to 18 points when they beat Liverpool this weekend, Bing has predicted.

The Sky Blues have a 50% chance of taking all three points at Anfield on Sunday, according to Microsoft’s search engine, to remain the only unbeaten team in the top flight this season.

Man City won the reverse fixture 5-0 in September, and this time the Reds will be without star midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who joined Barcelona earlier this week in a £142m deal.

In contrast, Pep Guardiola has a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, with his team notching up 64 goals in just 22 games so far this season – 14 more than the next best team, Liverpool.

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The Man City boss said it was important that his team’s excellent season ended with trophies. Speaking before his side’s 2-1 win against Bristol City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, Guardiola said: “A win helps to win more. To become a big club like the teams I’ve faced, or [Manchester] United or Liverpool with their history, you have to win.

“It is nice to have good performances but you have to lift the titles. It’s important and we’re going to try. Nobody can take away what we’ve done so far. But I think it’s a big mistake just to be happy if you win [like now]. We have to lift titles in the future – without them it’s not enough.”

His counterpart in Sunday’s game, Jurgen Klopp, will be handed a boost by welcoming back Mohamed Salah following injury. The winger has scored 23 goals in all competitions this term.

Liverpool have a 22% chance of victory, with a draw at 28%.

Man City’s lead at the top of the Premier League will be cut back to 15 points on Monday night, when second-placed Manchester United beat Stoke.

Jose Mourinho’s men have an 89% chance of taking all three points at Old Trafford, ensuring managerless Stoke remain in the bottom three.

Stoke are winless in their past 17 trips to Man Utd in all competitions (drawn two, lost 15) since a 1-0 win in April 1976. Meanwhile, the Red Devils have taken 25 of a possible 27 points in Premier League home matches against Stoke, with the only points dropped coming in this exact fixture last season (a 1-1 draw).

Man Utd will go into Monday night’s game fresh from a training camp in Dubai, following a hectic Christmas schedule.

“We need to recover but at the same time we also need to train because during this crazy time we have not had many times to work on details that you want to work on,” Mourinho said. “It’s been more about the recovery from the match and the travelling and the preparations for the next one without time to work. If we can have time to have a good, nice week to recover some injured players and tired players and, at the same time, work on some tactical details, I think it would be good for the second part of the season.”

Chelsea will remain just a point behind Man Utd by beating Leicester on Saturday. The Blues have a 55% chance of winning at Stamford Bridge, with Bing giving the visitors a 14% chance.

The London club have lost only one of their past 11 meetings with Leicester City in the Premier League (won nine, drawn one and lost one), and this weekend’s win will open up a five-point gap to fourth-placed Liverpool.

Tottenham will sweep aside Everton to keep up the pressure on the top four. Spurs have a 50% chance of victory, with Everton given just an 8% chance. Son Heung-min could become only the second Spurs player to score in five consecutive home Premier League matches, after Jermain Defoe achieved the feat between November and December 2004.

Arsenal will return to winning ways following their FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest last week. The Gunners have a 38% chance of beating Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, with the hosts being given a 34% chance.

Arsene Wenger’s team fought from 3-0 down to earn a point in this fixture last season – the only time they’ve ever come back from such a deficit in the Premier League.

At the other end of the table, Swansea, West Brom and Stoke will remain in the relegation places.

Swansea will slump to defeat against Newcastle, who have a 55% chance of victory; West Brom will take a point at home to Brighton, while Stoke will lose to Man Utd.

Elsewhere in the Premier League this weekend, Watford (48% chance of winning) will beat Southampton, Crystal Palace will draw against Burnley, and Huddersfield (45% of winning) will overcome West Ham.

Bing creates its predictions using a complex algorithm that analyses player performance.