It is the start of a 10-day spell that sees Liverpool play four matches which the Reds manager believes will make or break their campaign.

Steven Gerrard will miss the City game with his hamstring injury, and a judgement will be made on Monday as to whether he can travel to Spain for Wednesday's Champions League tie with Real Madrid.

Liverpool then have vital Barclays Premier League games at Middlesbrough next Saturday and at home to Sunderland on March 3 to be negotiated.

"Four games in the next few days will be a crucial time for us," Benitez said.

First up are an erratic City, who have spent over £100million since the beginning of the season.

That does not bother Benitez as much as many other people.

He said: "I do not believe their money is changing the face of football, there are other teams who have spent big, big money this season too. There is not a massive difference.

"They will be dangerous opponents. It is not just the money, it is the fact that they have high-quality players.

"This is a crucial time for us with games in quick succession that can make a massive difference to whether we will be fighting for trophies at the end of the season.

"At this stage, you can only think of taking three points and then seeing how your rivals do. We cannot influence what happens to other teams so we must concentrate on our own job and see whether someone else loses a match or two.

"And Manchester City are dangerous opponents. Robinho, (Stephen) Ireland and (Craig) Bellamy are fine players. They can change games and we must not underestimate them.

"We had Craig with us last season and he has great pace and can be a match-winner. We know what he is capable of."

Liverpool go into the match on the back of a dramatic late victory at Portsmouth in their last match.

Benitez was not slow to hit back at critics who ridiculed his team selection at Fratton Park.

The Spaniard, who will also be without the suspended Xabi Alonso tomorrow, said: "It was important that we won at Portsmouth in our last game, after a few disappointing draws.

"People were critical of my team selections, which I found very funny. We played really well, controlled the game and at the end we scored three goals with seven offensive players on the pitch.

"We showed determination and deserved the win. Maybe some of the commentators need to go to coaching school to understand what they are watching."