Man City star Rodri makes Liverpool 'rivalry' admission ahead of Saturday's clash

Manchester City midfielder Rodri admits the rivalry with Liverpool remains despite their recent struggles, with Saturday's meeting 'one of the toughest games of the season.'

City welcome Jurgen Klopp's side to the Etihad at lunchtime, looking to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to just five points, before they face Leeds United later on today. The Blues have a game in hand over their rivals in a race that is likely to go down to the wire.

In recent seasons it has been Liverpool fighting City for the title, but a drop off in form and problems in their squad has them sixth and clinging on to the top-four race. Nevertheless, they proved with a 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United that they can still hurt top teams and Rodri is under no illusions about today's challenge.

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“The rivalry is always there, no matter what the situation is of each team. It has always been a big rivalry in the last few years,” Rodri told City's in-house media team. “I think it is going to be one of the toughest games of the season. We need to show the best version of ourselves again because we are in the situation where we must win every game. It is going to be a final.

“My first game for City was against Liverpool in the Community Shield which we won. Of course, that year they won the Premier League, then we won it the next few years. They have an unbelievable team. We are always fighting against them and have had lots of big games at the Etihad and Anfield. There are lots of memories in the last few years.”

City have witnessed a switch in challenger this season but are prepared for a run-in similar to that of the past few years, with Arsenal showing no signs of