Will it be Liverpool's lucky 25?

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Drought ... will Liverpool finally crack the wall against the big boys? Source: Paul Ellis / AFP

For 24 matches they have been consistently inconsistent in all but one area – their inability to win against anyone who currently occupies a place in the top half of the Premier League.

For a club that sits in seventh place it beggar's belief.

At the halfway point of the Premier League Liverpool will travel to face the Champions, Manchester City, early Monday morning (EDT) looking for their first three points of the season against a team that currently sits in the top 10.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	25	20	2	3	29	62
2	Man City	24	15	7	2	26	52
3	Chelsea	25	13	7	5	24	46
4	Tottenham	24	12	6	6	12	42
5	Everton	25	10	12	3	10	42
6	Arsenal	25	11	8	6	20	41
7	Liverpool	24	9	8	7	12	35
8	Swansea	25	8	10	7	6	34
9	West Brom	24	10	4	10	0	34
10	Stoke	25	6	12	7	-6	30
11	West Ham	25	8	6	11	-8	30
12	Sunderland	25	7	8	10	-5	29
13	Fulham	25	7	7	11	-6	28
14	Norwich	25	6	10	9	-15	28
15	Newcastle	25	7	6	12	-11	27
16	Southampton	25	5	9	11	-11	24
17	Reading	25	5	8	12	-14	23
18	Wigan	25	5	6	14	-18	21
19	Aston Villa	25	4	9	12	-26	21
20	QPR	25	2	11	12	-19	17

They have gone close repeatedly.

Midweek they drew with Arsenal after having led 2-0.

Leading 2-1 against City early in the season they drew after Martin Skrtel's horror back pass allowed Edin Dzeko to make it 2-2 .

Bitter rivals Manchester United were allowed to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Anfield and there were encouraging draws away at Everton and Chelsea.

But three points eluded them.

The task that confronts Liverpool at Ethiad Stadium against a team that is 18 points ahead of them is a considerable one.

Whilst City have struggled away from home this season they have lost at home just once when Robin van Persie scored from a free kick to send the red half of Manchester delirious with joy.

Last season, City despatched Liverpool 3-0 at home to move three points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Missing Luis Suarez through suspension that day the Reds were easily brushed aside by the eventually champions.

City should face a much sterner examination this time around with Suarez available.

The controversial Uruguayan has been in sensational form scoring 17 league goals and with City captain Vincent Kompany ruled out through injury the champions will face a big task in keeping him quiet.

Kompany is not the only injury concern for City with fellow centre backs Matija Nastasic struggling with a knee injury and Kolo Toure away at the African Cup of Nations.

With Kompany missing Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will fancy his chances of causing City's makeshift defence problems.

New addition Daniel Sturridge is likely to figure heavily in his plans with the striker having scored three times in his first five games for the club since his switch from Chelsea.

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The key for Rodgers will be ensuring his side dominate possession.

When they have been allowed to do so they have generally controlled the match as was the case with impressive wins against Norwich and Wigan.

In the second half against Arsenal and the first half against Manchester United at Old Trafford they struggled to keep the ball and looked extremely vulnerable.

This may explain why they have been unable to beat anyone in the top 10.

Against teams struggling in the lower half of the table they have been given time and not been aggressively pressed.

The better teams in the Premier League have not given them this opportunity and they have found life difficult as a result.

Rodgers would have recognised this and the return of Jamie Carragher to the heart of defence seems to be a move aimed at making them more resilient when they are put under pressure.

It also adds more aggression into the back four and equips them better to deal with physical threats like Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, who caused them huge problems earlier in the season.

City are unlikely to pose a huge physical threat to Liverpool but the craft of Argentine duo Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero is no less dangerous.

The pair were guilty of missing a host of good chances in their nil all draw with QPR midweek but are unlikely to have repeat performance.

City Boss Roberto Mancini could look to bring Dzeko into the starting 11 but the Bosnian striker has proved much more effective when coming off the bench.

For a club with 18 league titles Liverpool's inability to beat anyone in the top half of the table by the midpoint of the season represents a worrying statistic.

For City there have been no such issues as they have set about building their own success laden history.

Come Monday morning the kings of the present will be eager to ensure they continue to rise whilst those who ruled the past will be looking for a sign that the glory days are moving closer once again.