Liverpool FC know size of the task to beat true mentality monsters Man City

Sunday will celebrate the two best teams not just in the Premier League but in the history of the competition. Manchester City and Liverpool have raised the standard required to win the division to extraordinary and unprecedented highs, and both are still within touching distance of breaking through the 90-point barrier once again.

Jurgen Klopp has rebuilt his 2020 champions after disappointment, not just last season but also in the first half of this campaign - at the halfway point, they were only on course for 82 points whereas now they are tracking for 91. With 10 straight victories since the middle of January, they have closed the gap to City to one point ahead of their trip to the Etihad.

But if Liverpool look like a titan again, they do not need anyone to tell them the foe they are up against - and still trail. There are weeks, months, and years of evidence for City's strength of character under Pep Guardiola.

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The most obvious example is the 2018/19 title race, when the Blues kicked off against Liverpool at the Etihad in the January of that campaign seven points behind. After holding their nerve to win a thrilling contest, they produced an extraordinary winning run to take advantage of slips on Merseyside to move to the top of the table in March and then hold off Klopp's team for two whole months of nail-biting action.

Guardiola can also boast an excellent record against Klopp at the Etihad, with the German's only win in six attempts being the highly controversial second leg of their Champions League quarter-final in 2018; in five league games, City have won 5-0, 4-0, 2-1 and drawn the other two. Blues are used to misery at