Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp mind games prove Man City and Liverpool FC rivalry is strong as ever

Pep Guardiola says Anfield is the toughest place to get a result in England and that Liverpool absolutely are title contenders this season despite their poor start. Jurgen Klopp insists Manchester City are the best team in the world, with the best striker in the world, and that his side are not in a title race as they sit in tenth.

Guardiola called on his side to improve on their 'soft' performances in their last two meetings with Liverpool, both cup defeats, with both managers seemingly keen to position themselves as the underdog. It will be fascinating to see which side reacts better on Sunday to their manager praising the opposition more than their own team.

Guardiola insists that Erling Haaland is fit and available for Liverpool after conceding he couldn't play in Copenhagen as he wasn't fit enough. He also said Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden, both benched in Denmark, were available to play, so all three would be favourites to start at Anfield.

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With City playing an hour with ten men on Tuesday, and Guardiola already admitting that fitness issues influenced who started and who didn't, his team selection may be dictated by the physical condition of his players as much as tactics. Aymeric Laporte looked shattered by the end, while other key players like Joao Cancelo, Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri all unhelpfully played 90 minutes midweek.

City shook their long winless run at Anfield off their backs in 2020/21, but have still won just once in 22 trips and twice in 35 visits to Liverpool. With that 2021 win being played behind-closed-doors, City would love to silence the Anfield crowd with a win as the form side of the two.

Guardiola will also be aware