Man City v Liverpool FC set to be explosive start to Premier League run-in

The international break can be the worst part of the season for a lot of football fans, having to sit through nearly two weeks of not seeing your club in action. So, it seems fitting that the Premier League returns this weekend with one of the most hotly-contested matches on the footballing calendar, as if the powers that be wanted to reward us for sticking around.

Manchester City welcome Liverpool in a fixture that has grown to be one of the most significant modern-day rivalries in the Premier League era. It may not have the local edge, as in the Manchester and Merseyside derbies, nor the historical importance of when United lock horns with Liverpool, but the fierce competitiveness remains all the same.

Unlike most recent years, the game takes on slightly less consequence this time around, with Liverpool having a campaign to forget and languishing in sixth place as a result. Even for City, a club that has made winning trophies a part of its identity, the season hasn’t had the same spark as fans have come to expect, even if a third league title in a row is still within their grasp.

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Regardless of the context, the signs are there of the bitter rivalry remaining in place. City announced last week that Liverpool’s ticket allocation would be reduced by 20 per cent to 2,400 seats in a move agreed by Greater Manchester Police following escalations in tension between the two fanbases.

This game obviously still means something. City want to reassert their dominance against a wounded animal in the Reds, whilst Liverpool will want to remind everyone that their dip in form won’t see them gone from the upper echelons of English football for long.

It’s almost gone under the