Man City vs Liverpool: I didn't expect us to be top, says Pep Guardiola | Etihad clash won't define us, says Jurgen Klopp
Watch Manchester City vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 11am on Saturday; kick-off 12.30pm; free match highlights from the Etihad Stadium will be available shortly after full time on the Sky Sports app and website
Saturday 25 November 2023 13:02, UK
Premier League champions Man City take on Liverpool at the Etihad in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday lunchtime - in a game you can see live on Sky Sports - with both managers insisting the outcome of the game will have no bearing on the destiny of this season's title race.
City lead second-placed Liverpool by just a point as the two rivals prepare to once again go head to head, with boss Pep Guardiola claiming he has been surprised by his side's impressive start to the campaign so far.
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In fact, last season's Treble winners will be looking to make it 24 home wins in a row in all competitions against Liverpool this weekend.
"Honestly, I could not expect to be in this position at the start of the season," said Guardiola in Friday's pre-match press conference.
"We have five teams so tight, but we are there. It's an important game, but there's more to come."
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The two clubs have shared the last six Premier League titles between them, two of which went down to the final match of the season, with Guardiola insisting Liverpool have been their biggest challengers since his arrival at the Etihad in 2016.
"I think we are all friends," he added. "Time goes forward, eight years with Liverpool and not the same team as the start. They are similar of course.
"Trent Alexander-Arnold can play inside now, but the ideas are similar. Always they've been our best rivals.
"Top club, top team, I'm looking forward to it. Every compliment to Liverpool and Manchester City to still be here.
"In the last decade, since I've been here, Liverpool have been our best rivals.
"This is the reality and of course, we are still there. That's a big compliment to both Man City and Liverpool. After many, many years we are still there."
Meanwhile, Guardiola hopes that Erling Haaland will be fit to face the Reds after the striker withdrew from international duty with Norway with an injury, but there are several other injury concerns.
"He trained yesterday [Thursday] with some niggles, today we train and hope he can be part of it," Guardiola confirmed.
"We have a few problems like many clubs, we'll see after our last training sessions, we'll see.
"I will know at 6pm who we have available, it's always plan A."
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Saturday's meeting between the top two teams in the Premier League is being billed as the biggest game of the season as Jurgen Klopp's team have emerged from a summer midfield rebuild to sit among City's main challengers, just a point behind the leaders despite their fifth-place finish in May.
But the Liverpool manager insists the clash, against what he describes as "the strongest team in the world", should not be used to gauge comparisons with the champions.
"Saturday is a big one, no doubt, against the strongest team in the world for the last years," he said in his Friday press conference.
Saturday is a big one, no doubt, against the strongest team in the world for the last years.
"That is a massive task for each football team in the world and for us as well, but we will give it a try anyway.
"It is not a test how close can we get to City, it is just a super-exciting football game.
"But for us it is not about being excited, we have to prepare it properly and we know we have to be at our best to get a chance. We have that then it is about us to take it.
"A lot of things can happen: can we play bad, lose? Possible. Can we play bad and win? I would say it is unlikely, it's pretty much not possible against City. We can play very good and don't win, it's possible. We play very good and win.
"This team doesn't have to pass a test now, the direction we are going - up - is really the right one, that is obvious.
"Toulouse [a 4-3 Europa League defeat] we were not good there. I made a lot of changes so it goes on my responsibility, but still no good. Against Luton [a 1-1 draw], we were not good and if we had won the game, we were not good that
night.
"But in a lot of games this season we were good and deserved what we we got."
Live Premier League
Live on Sky on Saturday: Man City vs Liverpool; kick-off 12.30pm
Premier League heavyweights collide at the Etihad Stadium at 12.30pm on Saturday, November 25 - and you can watch Man City's showdown with Liverpool live on Sky Sports.
We'll be on air from 11am on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event for an in-depth build-up to the meeting of the Premier League title rivals, in what could be one of the defining games of the season.
You'll then be able to watch every thrill and spill from the contest when the action gets underway at 12.30pm, with free highlights then available shortly after full time on the Sky Sports app & website.
Make sure the earlier-than-usual kick-off time for a game on Sky is noted in your diary!
Man City vs Liverpool to deliver another thriller?
This is one you won't want to miss! Man City take on Liverpool live on Sky Sports at 12.30pm on Saturday as the Premier League returns.
This fixture has delivered on average three goals per game and some classic meetings over the years.
Just a point separates the two sides - something has got to give!
Jones Knows prediction: Sleepy Liverpool set for rude awakening
Liverpool and the 12.30pm kick-off is an angle punters can exploit. There is substance there.
Many readers of Liverpool persuasion will shoot this down based on back-to-back victories over Wolves and Everton this season in that particular timeslot but I'm yet to be convinced. Jurgen Klopp's side broke a six-game winless run in 12.30pm starts when beating Wolves 3-1 but it was an alarming first-half showing that continued a worrying trend for Klopp's men. A failure to score in that first half, or in the eventual 2-0 win over Everton, means Liverpool have failed to score in seven of their last eight first halves in the 12.30pm timeslot.
That's more than enough evidence to declare them as slow starters in this type of environment and the last place you want to go if sleepy football is in your blood is away to Manchester City. I like the 6/4 with Sky Bet for them to be winning and half-time and full-time. Equally, I'm also drawn to Bernardo Silva in the prop markets.
In a game where Man City are expecting to find fertile ground in behind the Liverpool full-backs, his 9/2 anytime scorer price does stand out if, as expected, Guardiola does select him in that right-side forward role. His two goals against Bournemouth earlier this month when playing that wide right role took him to five goals scored in his last three matches at the Etihad Stadium when playing in that front three, following up a double in the 4-0 win over Madrid and another effort in the 3-0 dismantling of Bayern last season.
Adding Silva's fouls conceded numbers to the Bet Builder makes sense too in order to boost the price. His fouls conceded data rockets when playing as a right-sided forward against elite opposition as he is likely to find himself in more one-on-one duels down that flank rather than in the hustle and bustle in central field.
In his last seven appearances playing that position against an elite opponent (Arsenal, Real, Bayern, Inter Milan and Manchester United) he has made 19 fouls, meaning he's working at an average of 2.7 fouls per 90 minutes. When you consider the likely attack-minded approach of Klopp's Liverpool, Silva will be kept busy out of possession and is expected to hit around that average in terms of fouls made.
SCORE PREDICTION: 3-1 | JONES KNOWS' BEST BET: Man City to be winning at half-time/full-time, Bernardo Silva to score & make at least one foul (14/1 with Sky Bet - Bet Here!)
Jones Knows best bets: Liverpool's 12.30pm issue, big-game Bernardo
Jones Knows is back with his Premier League best bets column with a particular focus on Man City vs Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, where he's making a case for a 14/1 shot.
