Manchester City and Liverpool resume their rivalry at Anfield on Wednesday night for the third of four meetings this season.
City thrashed Liverpool 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium in September, before the Reds became the first — and so far only — team to beat Pep Guardiola’s side in the 2017-18 Premier League with a pulsating 4-3 victory in January.
As the two best attacking teams in England prepare to do battle on the European stage in a Champions League quarter-final, Sportsmail’s IAN LADYMAN answers the questions on everybody’s lips…
Manchester City trained at Anfield on Tuesday on the eve of their quarter-final with Liverpool
WILL THIS GAME BE AS THRILLING AS WE EXPECT?
There is no reason to expect otherwise. Both managers were asked on Tuesday about their intentions to attack from the first whistle. Guardiola said that even though ‘the way we play is perfect for Liverpool’ his players would find it ‘scary’ if he suddenly asked them to change.
Jurgen Klopp was equally interesting and admitted ‘hoping for a clean sheet against City does not make too much sense’.
What some of the great European coaches of the past would make of this is open to question. Going away from home and playing a tight game was always considered part of the skill in this competition but that will not form part of the thinking at Anfield.
Even the usually reserved Kevin De Bruyne was happy to stoke the flames of anticipation. ‘For the neutral it will be beautiful,’ said the City midfielder.
City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne built up the clash by saying: ‘For the neutral it will be beautiful’
ARE THEY UNABLE TO DEFEND OR DO THEY JUST CHOOSE NOT TO?
Of course they can defend — to a degree. City, for example, have kept clean sheets this season against Arsenal, Chelsea (twice each) and indeed Liverpool.
But whether they can actually set out to suffocate a game and steal a goal is another matter. Liverpool’s defensive work is particularly open to examination as, despite recurrent claims that they have improved, recent performances at Manchester United and Crystal Palace indicate that an element of vulnerability remains.
Liverpool will be without their defensive shield Emre Can so it seems that if they are to go through over two legs it is likely to be on the back of an 180-minute shootout.
Klopp said: ‘Sitting back against Manchester City is no solution. Be there is a chance to get the ball. If we can we do that, we have a chance. If not? It is very, very difficult.’
Jurgen Klopp vowed to attack, explaining: ‘Sitting back against Manchester City is no solution’
HOW IMPORTANT WILL THE ATMOSPHERE BE FOR LIVERPOOL?
Guardiola said this week that he hoped the Liverpool fans would be ‘correct and polite’ which will no doubt bring a smile to the lips of those supporters planning to greet the City bus with flares and smoke bombs at Anfield.
Deep down, though, Guardiola and his players will not pause for thought. Guardiola, remember, played for Barcelona and his team is made up of players from football hotbeds like Brazil and Spain.
Indeed, what will motivate City is a feeling that they have rarely given their best against Liverpool over the years.
Not since 2003 have a City team prevailed at Anfield and there is a feeling in Guardiola’s dressing room that it is time to put that right. Klopp spoke or ‘rewriting history’ and the same can certainly be said for City.
City were relaxed at Anfield on Tuesday but the atmosphere will be very different come kick-off
WHAT ARE THE KEY TACTICAL ISSUES?
FASTEST PLAYERS FROM BOTH TEAMS
Top speed recorded by players this season
Both teams have electric pace. ‘Liverpool are so fast and direct and they attack the space like no other team in the world,’ said Guardiola, and De Bruyne described City’s opponents as a ‘juggernaut’.
That fact will place pressure on whoever plays in City’s problem position at left back. Central defender Aymeric Laporte filled in against Everton on Saturday but facing a team who mustered only 18 per cent possession is a little different from watching Mo Salah running towards you.
Guardiola will choose between Laporte and Fabian Delph and neither feels a great fit. City will miss the running and presence of the injured Sergio Aguero but still it’s hard to escape the sense that the key absentee on both sides will be that of Liverpool’s Can.
City can be vulnerable when teams press them — think back to the Premier League game at Anfield and two entertaining games against Napoli — but Liverpool are perhaps even more vulnerable when they face the best. This will have to be a big night for someone like Jordan Henderson or James Milner.
With Emre Can injured, Jordan Henderson (centre) may be tasked with anchoring the midfield
DOES KLOPP’S WIN RECORD AGAINST GUARDIOLA MATTER?
The Liverpool manager has won six out of 12 against Guardiola, which is impressive when set against his peers. Jose Mourinho, for example, has only overcome the Spaniard four times in 21 attempts.
What matters more than this, though, is the confidence that the German imbues in his players. Liverpool are the only team in the Premier League who have actually played against City with any real belief that they could beat them this season and that is key.
Liverpool’s players genuinely believe that they can hurt City and they will carry this feeling into both games.
Klopp’s very first game against a City team — albeit one managed by Manuel Pellegrini — saw Liverpool win 4-1 at the Etihad in November 2015 and belief has grown from there.
As Klopp said on Tuesday: ‘City have a specific way of playing and that makes it all difficult. But we still know there’s a chance. It is possible to combat it.’
Klopp has beaten Guardiola (above) six times in their 12 meetings prior to Wednesday’s match