DANNY MURPHY: Guardiola should ditch Jack Grealish against Liverpool

The long and arduous battle for the Premier League title could take a step towards being settled by Sunday night - with Manchester City and Liverpool going head-to-head at the Etihad this weekend.

After Pep Guardiola's recent declaration that he loves to overthink his tactics in big matches, one could be left wondering what set-up City will deploy when their rivals turn up to Manchester.

The Spaniard has some crucial decisions to make ahead of the match - including whether to start Jack Grealish or Raheem Sterling. 

I’d have to say yes. The scary thing is they can rotate their squad and still win nearly all their matches.

There are some really good sides across Europe — Bayern, PSG, Real Madrid — but you’d put your chips on City or Liverpool beating them over two legs. It’s not just the quality but the tempo they play at.

The competitive nature of the Premier League means they are incredibly intense and relentless in addition to their talent. That’s why they can compete on all fronts.

Liverpool can beat City without Mo Salah but I wouldn’t leave him out and I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will either. He’s earned the right to stay in the team for what he’s given over a number of years.

We had a similar situation at Liverpool with Michael Owen in 2002. He was the reigning European Player of the Year but started the season with one goal in nine games and everyone was questioning him ahead of a game at Man City.

Gerard Houllier kept him in, Michael scored a hat-trick past Peter Schmeichel and ended the season with 28 goals and getting to the World Cup quarter-finals.

Liverpool have an abundance of attacking talent in Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino, but the last player Joao Cancelo will want to see on the