Pablo Zabaleta has revealed his Manchester City side have already forgotten about their midweek defeat to Barcelona and are fully focused on Sunday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.

City lost the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with the Catalan Giants 2-1 on Tuesday but full-back Zabaleta has revealed the club have been fully focused on the upcoming match at Anfield since the final whistle blew at the Etihad Stadium.

He said: “It is important that you rest properly in-between games and focus on the next game which is Liverpool on Sunday. We know how crucial the game is and Liverpool are playing very well at the moment, even though they lost to Besiktas on Thursday evening.”

Manuel Pellegrini’s side go into the match at Anfield five points behind league leaders Chelsea, but know that they could close the gap at the top to just two points by the end of the weekend, with Jose Mourinho’s side not in league action due to their Capital One Cup final showdown with Tottenham.

Zabaleta for one is using that possibility as motivation going into the match with Brendan Rodgers’ side.

He said: “We will go there to win but are expecting a tough 90 minutes but we can close the gap at the top to just two points so this is a huge game for us.”

City do not have a good record at Anfield having not won against the Reds away from home since 2003, losing seven of the 12 matches that have proceeded the victory nearly 12 years ago.

Despite their poor recent record at the home of the Reds, City go into the game as slight favourites at 2.31, with the hosts on offer at 3.04. The draw is a slight outside bet at 3.24.