In the previous two seasons the battle between Liverpool and Manchester City was the most decisive game in the English league. Things have changed a bit, and now we have a new picture – Pep Guardiola’s team leads the table, while Jürgen Klopp’s is in fourth place with a 7-point deficit. Add to that alongside the recent disappointing results and problematic injury situation in the defensive squad, and you get a different balance of power than we were used to.
Tomorrow (Sunday, 18:30) the two English empires will meet at Anfield, with the Blues arriving as favorites given the state of the staffs as well as the momentum. City are still on a tremendous streak of 13 wins in all competitions, with their last loss being mid-November against Tottenham. Liverpool, on the other hand, have suffered two rather embarrassing losses recently, with a 1-0 draw to weak Burnley four rounds ago and a similar result against Brighton in the last round – both incidentally at home stadium.
“Our goal is to think about winning the game and getting three points,” he said Guardiola. “It does not matter how much we look forward, how many games we win and how many points we get. It is frustrating to play each game individually. It is always difficult to play against Liverpool, it is a huge club with top players and a great team. Open a gap of 10 points? “I just want to see my team come to Anfield to win, as we have done so far.”
Pep also responded to Klopp, who recalled that City had a long Corona break and Liverpool did not: “He was wrong, he needs to look at the calendar again. I’m surprised, I did not think Jürgen was a manager of this kind. I did not expect such a statement. Maybe they did not understand “It’s true. We had players who got infected, we stopped for a week, we played with 14 players at Stamford Bridge. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ll ask Jürgen tomorrow.”
Professionally, the manager has confirmed that three players are certainly not qualified and will not be on the squad: Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and Nathan Acre. In Liverpool’s injured and recovering segment, Klopp confirmed that Allison has recovered from the illness and returned to training. Fabino and Sadio Mana are still in doubt, and of course there are the injured players who have been missing for a long time (Virgil Van Dyke, Joe Gomez, Nabi Keita, Diego Jote, Joel Matip).
Guard Pep Guardiola on Jurgen Klopp:
“He made a mistake [it wasn’t two weeks off], it was two months, three months, four months. That’s why we’re in the top four now. Jurgen has to see the calendar again. When I see Jurgen I will ask him how long we had off. “pic.twitter.com/HnUmHz6MuB
– Man City Report (@cityreport_) February 5, 2021