ManchesterCity knows only too well what Liverpool lost the day Luis Suarez walked away from Anfield.
The Uruguayan striker, who fired the Merseysiders’ unlikely Premier League title challenge last season, returned to haunt Manuel Pellegrini on Tuesday.
Suarez’ two goals at the Etihad Stadium put Barcelona in control of their Champions League last 16 tie.
Trailing 2-1 after the first leg, City know they must score two goals in the Nou Camp to have any hope of reaching the quarter finals.
While Suarez has left the champions’ European hopes hanging in the balance, the good news for Manuel Pellegrini is that ahead of a potentially pivotal with Liverpool, the forward is no longer wearing red.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are only just beginning to get over the loss of their talisman.
Last season’s runners up have gone 10 games unbeaten in the Premier League which explains why Pellegrini is still wary of their threat, even without Suarez.
The potential for Mario Balotelli to punish his former club cannot be discounted, while the front trio Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho continue to develop.
“For any team to lose Luis Suarez is important,” said Pellegrini. “Of course, Liverpool miss him.
“It’s not easy for a team to solve (losing) that important player. But Liverpool is strong without Luis Suarez.
“Maybe the performance of Luis Suarez in the last year was incredible and you always need a player with that.
“But the big teams have a lot of other players in the squad.
Liverpool this season bought a lot of players, a lot of important players.
“Balotelli is a very good player and Lambert. They have important players.
“For the games against Barcelona, you asked me what we are going to do with (Lionel) Messi.
“If we control Messi, if we control Neymar, they have Suarez.”
City are hoping to cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table to two points, with Jose Mourinho’s side facing Tottenham in the Capital One Cup final.
Pellegrini admits his side have an advantage over Liverpool after their opponents endured a delayed return flight from their Europa League clash with Besiktas on Thursday night.
Rodgers’ side, who had to go through extra time and penalties in Turkey, didn’t arrive back into the country until 4.20am yesterday morning.
While Pellegrini admits that could give his team the edge, he has warned his players not to take Liverpool lightly.
“I think that of course it is an advantage,” he said. “Not a decisive one because I always think the decisive thing is the performance on the day of the game.
“If we think we are going to win that game because Liverpool arrive yesterday night late, that is not the reason. We must play very good because they also have a strong squad.”
