Liverpool welcome Manchester City in the Premier League and Jurgen Klopp, for once is going to be the more confident manager going into this game.
The Anfield outfit go into this match at the back of a 5-1 win over Porto while Guardiola’s men stumbled in the Champions League, losing 2-0 to PSG.
But despite that loss, Manchester City looked really sharp in midweek and so it’s safe to say they will be looking to come up with a response on Sunday when they face Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp was asked why it’s so hard to assert dominance over Guardiola’s Manchester City, to which the Reds boss explained how and why City are one of the best teams in Europe right now.
The manager said, as quoted: “First and foremost, the best way to defend is to keep the ball, that’s what City are doing pretty well. They have big possession numbers, stuff like that,” began the Reds boss.
“Then they have an exceptional counter-pressing impulse, which helps as well; if you lose the ball then you win it back pretty early, that helps as well. On top of that, they have different possible organisations obviously.
“Against us especially, they played, or defended at least, very often in a 4-4-2, even when it was a slightly offensively different system, which helps as well in the specific areas to close an opponent down.
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“On top of that, they have exceptional individual quality in different positions, which helps as well with defending. On top of that, if you don’t have a shot on goal then the goalie is not that massively influential, but if you get through there’s still a world-class goalie.
“So, that makes it a really interesting mix, I would say. That’s why City won quite a few Premier League titles and trophies in the last few years – because they are really good. And it’s a clear idea, it’s a clear structure, with some changes from time to time.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure but I think last year, or the year before, they started defending in a 4-4-2, De Bruyne pushing up, stuff like this. Before that, they didn’t do it like it. Let’s see what they do this year.
“Not only us have a day or two more to prepare the game, they have it as well so let’s see what Pep is doing. We will see. But the main thing I think is to keep the ball as long as possible, that gives the opposition team no chance to finish any kind of situations off because you don’t have the ball.”
Can Jurgen Klopp come up with the winning formula vs Man City?
Jurgen Klopp has managed to provide a very detailed description of why Man City are so dominating during games. But if one team can counter that then it’s Liverpool.
The Reds have become much more stable after the return of Van Dijk and Joel Matip in central defence and it’s safe to say they are once again looking like proper title contenders.
Man City are expected to play with a false nine on Sunday(their favourite system for the big games) meaning Jurgen Klopp will have to be extra careful with his midfield selection.
With Thiago out, Fabinho is going to play as the main defensive midfielder but it’s the selection of Curtis Jones which could be a cause of concern.
Ideally, Jones should be starting based on his recent form but we doubt if he will be able to handle players like Rodri and Bernardo Silva.
If Liverpool’s midfield do not crumble under pressure then we expect to see a pretty even content on Sunday – otherwise, City are going to run riot at Anfield.
