JURGEN KLOPP and Pep Guardiola will trade punches once again on Sunday – but this time the Premier League trophy is not on the line.
Last season both league meetings between these two brilliant teams were essentially title deciders.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola will face off once again on Sunday
Manchester City pipped Liverpool to the title by one point last season
Klopp’s side appear to be suffering with a hangover from last season
Had Liverpool won either of those pulsating 2-2 draws, Klopp and Co would have been crowned champions.
Fast forward just a matter of months and Klopp has already ruled his side out of this season’s title race.
The Reds look a shadow of the team that were only two wins away from an unprecedented quadruple and a place in football’s history books.
Liverpool have won just two out of eight league games this campaign and are currently 10th, two places below Bournemouth, who they beat 9-0 in August.
Boss Klopp has appeared spikey and irritated in recent press conferences, blasting Didi Hamann for suggesting Liverpool had lost their “spark”.
City on the other hand look imperious.
Despite trailing Arsenal in the Prem table, the addition of Erling Haaland has turned Pep Guardiola’s side into even more of a winning machine than they were previously.
But nevertheless, Sunday’s 4.30pm kick off at Anfield still has an awful lot riding on it.
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Losing to a reeling Liverpool side would damage City morale and allow Arsenal to go four points clear at the top of the table with victory at Leeds.
Mikel Arteta’s side have shown no signs of slowing down after their blistering start, and there is growing belief they could even be title challengers.
For Liverpool Darwin Nunez will be desperate to prove himself against a player he drew so many comparisons to in Haaland.
After Nunez scored in the Community Shield and Haaland fired a blank, the City man has scored 15 goals in NINE Prem games to quickly put the Liverpool forward in his shadow.
Nunez will be hoping to fire the home side to victory as defeat, mixed with other results going against them, could potentially see Liverpool end the weekend nine points off the top four.
And the Reds can kiss goodbye to any hopes of signing Jude Bellingham or Kylian Mbappe if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Bellingham is being lined up for next summer, while there are rumours Mbappe could be on the agenda too if he forces a move away from Paris Saint-Germain.
So while the title may not be on the line, both bosses know a bad result could still make or break their season.
Darwin Nunez is still adjusting to life at Liverpool
Erling Haaland has scored 15 goals in NINE Premier League games
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