Ladyman: Liverpool NEED to keep their two-point cushion over Man City

Liverpool must cling on to their two-point lead by the time they play Manchester City, Ian Ladyman has argued - or risk being crestfallen once again come the season's close.

Jurgen Klopp's men face Brentford, Luton, and Nottingham Forest in their league before their Anfield assignment against City on March 10.

They hold a slender two-point advantage over City and Arsenal but Pep Guardiola's side are the ones everybody fears.

The Treble-winners have hit their mid-season stride again, winning 11 games on the bounce dating back to the Club World Cup. The last time they lost a game was December 6, a 1-0 loss at Aston Villa.

'Liverpool have got the next three games in the league are Brentford, Luton, Forest and that to me feels like they're going to have to win those three simply because after that little run comes their crunch game with Man City at Anfield and then the Merseyside Derby away at Goodison Park,' Ladyman told Mail Sport's football podcast It's All Kicking Off.

'They can't afford any separation between themselves and City in the next month, that's what I'm getting at.'

Chris Sutton agreed, adding that Liverpool have got to be clinical to stay in front of a relentless City, who have won the last three Premier League titles.

He said: 'Look, we all know, right, that Liverpool have to be ruthless. That goes without saying. Nobody I've met in the last week or two has changed their mind about Manchester City, because you just feel it and you look at their bench every week and the ability to change things.

'We shouldn't be judging Liverpool just based on that one Arsenal game. They actually recovered okay against Burnley, saw the pictures of Mo Salah back in full training. I mean, that's absolutely enormous.

'So they've got a