Why Manchester City v Liverpool deserves to be in the pantheon of great football rivalries

Let’s talk about Manchester City and Liverpool shall we? It’s the game that is being talked up around the world, it’s the one that everyone will be watching at 16:30 BST on Sunday April 10. Ad/> It promises to be an utterly exhilarating, fascinating match between arguably the best two sides in the world right now, separated by just a single point with eight Premier League games remaining. Premier LeagueLiverpool v Man City ‘greatest’ rivalry in ‘English football history’ — Carragher3 HOURS AGO Five years ago these teams weren’t on each other’s radar.

In the 2016/17 season Liverpool and City finished third and fourth respectively as they started figuring themselves out under their new managers, who were in their first full season with their clubs. Chelsea were the dominant champions, winning 30 out of 38 games, Tottenham Hotspur were the best of the rest (finishing eight points ahead of City!). Now Liverpool and City are not only by far and away the two best teams in England, they have forged a rivalry that has become arguably the biggest in the world right now.

Some have even gone as far as to say that it is the best rivalry that the Premier League has ever seen, better than Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the 2000s. Your view on the best rivalry will probably come down to your age, and the team you support. But it does lend credence to an interesting discussion about what makes a great rivalry.

Traditionally the best rivalries have been built off history, games played across the ages, combined with some kind of geographical significance. But perhaps now it is time to consider that the best rivalries can also develop from a sense of competitive relevance. Liverpool v Man City