weekend will turn Manchester City's season around.

The Blues are staring relegation from the top flight in the face and the trip to the home of the mighty Reds on Sunday in the fifth round of the competition will be a welcome distraction from their league woes.

The two teams met recently in the league at Maine Road, drawing 1-1 with Goater setting up the City goal and the Bermudian, whose 90th-minute winner against Coventry in the last round set up the tie, believes they have the ability to come out on top this time.

"Liverpool are currently an in-form team,'' he said from his Manchester home.

"We know that we will have to be at our best to get a result. But belief is such a big thing and if we have that belief and togetherness I feel we can get a result.'' Goater said boss Joe Royle had made the team watch the league encounter against Gerard Houllier's men in a bid to prepare them for Sunday's clash.

"We have looked back on that game on the video and we have seen some good things and we have taken some positives out of the it,'' he said.

"If we can hurry them into mistakes as we are capable of doing and not let them settle on the ball then we can perhaps unsettle them. From there you make it an untidy game for them and you limit their chances.

"Right now they can choose between four or five strikers that are currently on form. Whoever he (Houllier) seems to bring in seems to be scoring so we have to limit their opportunities.'' To the casual observer this might be seen as the biggest game of City's season so far, but Goater disagreed.

"The league games are very important because of where we are and each game becomes even more and more so,' he said.

"We would love to progress and we are going into the game wanting to progress but we would sooner take three points from a league game to make sure we stay in the Premiership than progress in the FA Cup.

"When teams are in a relegation fight, cup runs are what brings back belief and determination and helps teams to survive.'' What has been printed in some of the Liverpool papers prior to the game may also spur City on.

"It won't be difficult to get the players going for this tie,'' said boss Royle. "I am told we have been labelled the worst team in the league by the Liverpool paper and the players will be told.''