Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini: 'We have the advantage over Liverpool'

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini concedes his team do have the advantage over Liverpool in Premier League match on 1 March, due to the Reds' previous game in Turkey.

Brendan Rodgers's side dropped out of the Europa League on 26 February after losing to Besiktas on penalties, giving them just 56 hours to recover before the match against Pellegrini's team.

The City boss said: "I think, of course, that is an advantage, not a decisive one because I always think the decisive thing is the performance on the day of the game.

"But I have played in the Europa League and when you arrive back on Friday, it is not the best way to prepare for a game on Sunday.

"But that is the rules. They are playing Europa League. Maybe another time it will be us who have a worse preparation for the game."

Pellegrini hopes City can bounce back from their Champions League loss to Barcelona and cash in on Liverpool's tiredness by winning for the first time at Anfield since 2003. Victory would see them reduce the gap between themselves and league leaders Chelsea to two points, with Jose Mourinho's team involved in the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur on 1 March.

"Yes, of course, it is important, more than psychologically it is important mathematically," he said. "If we win, we are going to have three points more, we are going to go two points behind Chelsea because they do not play.

"Last season, I remember we were nine points behind Chelsea with three games in hand, but then you have the pressure to win those three games. It is very important to beat Liverpool because they are a strong team and Anfield is always a difficult stadium to play in.