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Manchester City will need to stop Liverpool’s danger man if they are to storm their final Premier League bastion … Martin Skrtel!

Since the 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour, the club has been transformed, and fans that used to head to Swindon with some trepidation have got used to winning at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates.

In fact, there is one stadium left, one place where City have not won in those six seasons – Anfield.

Indeed, City have not won on the red side of Stanley Park since Nicolas Anelka’s double sank his old side in 2003.

And Liverpool’s leading scorer in the last six games at Anfield is not Luis Suarez or Andy Carroll or Dirk Kuyt, but shaven-headed defender Skrtel, with three in six games.

City have already made this season one for busting bogeys. At the start of the season, there were four stadiums in the Premier at which the Blues had still to register a league win since the Sheikh’s money wrought a magical transformation.

They have already dismissed three of those jinxes in emphatic fashion by winning 3-0 at Southampton, 4-1 at Sunderland and 4-1 at Stoke.

That leaves Liverpool as the last place to conquer, with the last six seasons bringing four draws and two defeats in the league, plus a 2-2 stalemate in the League Cup semi-final second leg in 2012.

It will not be easy for the Blues. Liverpool are unbeaten at home in all competitions in 11 games, their last defeat on their home turf being to Chelsea on November 8.

But they have also not been convincing, with five wins and six draws in that run, with Bolton, Leicester and Sunderland all holding them.

Here is how City have been thwarted in six league visits since 2008.

LIVERPOOL 1 CITY 1 (Feb 2009)

Former Kop hero Craig Bellamy had been one of the first players brought to the club by Mark Hughes, flush with the Sheikh’s money in the January transfer window, for around £14m. The fiery Welsh striker scored two in his first three, and then saw his shot deflect off Alvaro Arbeloa to give City the lead at Anfield - only for Kuyt to equalise 12 minutes from the end.

LIVERPOOL 2 CITY 2 (Nov 2009)

Hughes’ team was proving a big draw, as this Anfield meeting was part of a run of eight stalemates in 10 games as the manager’s reign moved towards a conclusion. Skrtel put Liverpool ahead but Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland turned the game on its head before Yossi Benayoun ensured a share of the points.

LIVERPOOL 3 CITY 0 (April 2011)

City fell foul of Carroll having one of the few games that justified his amazing £35m fee, although it was Suarez pulling the strings. Carroll was a real menace, scoring twice, with Kuyt grabbing the other, as City were blown away by half-time.

LIVERPOOL 1 CITY 1 (Nov 2011)

City went to Anfield on the back of seven straight wins, and five points clear at the top – but could not end the hoodoo. Vincent Kompany’s header put them ahead but a Joleon Lescott own goal – and miserable red card for substitute Mario Balotelli – had them holding on for a point.

LIVERPOOL 2 CITY 2 (Aug 2012) That man Skrtel was again left unattended at a corner to head Liverpool ahead, and after Yaya Toure had levelled, a Suarez free- kick put the Scousers back in the lead. This time Skrtel pulled one out for City, his back-pass letting in Carlos Tevez to square things with 10 minutes to go.

LIVERPOOL 3 CITY 2 (April 2014)

Prematurely billed as a title decider, City were nearly blown away by a rampant Liverpool as Raheem Sterling and – you guessed – Skrtel's head made it 2-0. But the Blues roared back through David Silva and Glen Johnson’s own goal, only for Philippe Coutinho to fire in from Kompany’s sliced clearance.

Click below to see a gallery of City's last six trips to Anfield