John Barnes believes Manchester City's squad depth means they are able to suffer from more injuries than Liverpool.
The Reds have endured an injury-blighted season that has impacted their form ahead of Sunday's game against Man City.
While City have found a way to play without key players such as Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, Barnes believes Liverpool's long-term injury list, which features the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, has robbed them of squad depth.
Speaking to BonusCodeBets.co.uk, Barnes argued Liverpool are having to rely on 12 or 13 players not to get injured.
He said: "Manchester City can afford to lose two or three main players and bring other players of similar quality in as replacements but Liverpool can’t.
"Due to the injuries they’ve had, Van Dijk, Alisson and other main players, Liverpool are having to rely on their top 12, 13 players and if you don’t have them all it’s tough.
"When Jota came in when the front three didn’t perform he was great, but he’s injured now too. Liverpool are missing a lot of key players.
"Decent players have come in to fill for the injured players but if you have to concentrate hard and perform as best you can every single week without your top players it is difficult to play with any consistency.
"Liverpool are also having to get used to playing a different style of football with these different players coming in for the injured ones.
"They’ve been so used to playing one particular way for the last three years and to change that now is hard."
