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Liverpool's headline-makers in Kenny Dalglish's latest reign have been the £57m strike duo of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, but the defence has been just as important to the Reds' progress under the new manager.

And that aspect of their game, as well as their solid home form under Dalglish, might well be to the fore again on Saturday when Birmingham visit Anfield.

Dalglish has achieved eyecatching results in big games with Premier League victories over both Manchester clubs and Chelsea, but in the main Liverpool's improvement since the departure of Roy Hodgson has been steady rather than spectacular.

A key factor has been the tightening up of Liverpool's defence and there is some irony in that, as one of the reasons for Hodgson's unpopularity was a perceived safety-first mentality.

There is little doubt Liverpool have improved because if they had managed the points average achieved under Dalglish over the course of the season, they would now be sitting pretty in fourth place in the Premier League and well on course for a Champions League berth.

Yet it is possible to draw a false conclusion from Liverpool's 3-1 and 3-0 wins over the Manchester clubs because in general Dalglish's approach appears to be based on an appreciation that Liverpool are a low-scoring team and must play a tight game to achieve good results.

It is notable that they have kept a clean sheet in almost half of their league games under Dalglish (six out of 13). All but one of their league wins under Dalglish have been founded on a clean sheet and their results are still quite poor when conceding - a points average of just 0.75 per game in that scenario.

Liverpool kept a clean sheet in three of their four Europa League games under Dalglish and overall their record for the new manager is low-scoring - they have scored nil or one in 12 of their 18 games for Dalglish.

While that might change as the Carroll-Suarez partnership develops, for now a good policy is to back Liverpool to win to nil at home. Their home form under Dalglish has been strong (five wins and no defeats out of eight in all competitions) and four of their home wins have been based on a clean sheet.

Manchester City may have reached the FA Cup final, but one of the reasons why they have not sustained a title challenge this season is that they have been less effective than their elite rivals at influencing games at crucial moments - from a losing position or in the closing stages.

Manchester United lead the Premier League for goals scored in the final quarter of an hour, with 18, followed by Chelsea and Arsenal on 16. City lag well behind with just five goals scored in the last 15 minutes, which may well stem from Roberto Mancini's safety-first attitude.

An even more damning indictment of Mancini's tactics is City's poor record at turning matches in their favour after a slow start. City have won only four (22%) of the 18 games where they have been level or behind at half-time, whereas United, Arsenal and Chelsea have higher win percentages and have taken more points than City from that position.

City's 'bouncebackability' figures are also poor. From a losing position they have recovered to take just four points - the second-lowest in the Premier League - while Chelsea (16 points gained from a losing position), United (12) and Arsenal (nine) have all performed much better.

All in all, City are a team to lay when they are trailing and even when they are not ahead at half-time.

Recommended bets
Liverpool to win to nil v Birmingham at 2.3
Lay Manchester City if drawing or level at half-time v Blackburn

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