Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers: 'Manchester City have advantage over us'

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes that Manchester City will have the edge over his players in terms of fitness for this Sunday's Premier League showdown at Anfield.

The reigning champions have an extra 48 hours to prepare for this weekend's encounter as the Reds face Besiktas in Turkey for their last-32 second leg in the Europa League.

"That extra period of 48 hours that City have could be crucial, certainly physically, especially as we will have very little preparation time," the Manchester Evening News quotes Rodgers as saying.

"It'll just be about recovery. We can't train on the pitch at Anfield, we can't make it any worse than it is, so we're having to train during the day. But that's the way it's been dealt and we'll deal with it the best we can."

Liverpool have not been beaten in the Premier League since their 3-0 loss to Manchester United on December 14.