Guardiola vs Klopp, a career overview as City face Liverpool in Premier League title decider
Manchester City and Liverpool face off at the Etihad on Sunday evening in a clash that could be instrumental in deciding the fate of the 2021-22 Premier League title
Liverpool make the short journey to Manchester on Sunday evening in a top of the table clash between first and second in the Premier League with just one point separating the ‘Sky Blues’ and the ‘Reds’ going into the contest with just eight games of the 2021-22 campaign outstanding.
Both sides will be encouraged by their respective midweek Champions League action with City overcoming a dogged Atlético Madrid 1-0 at the Etihad on Tuesday night with Liverpool also securing a win away in Lisbon where a 1-3 win puts Jurgen Klopp’s men in a commanding position ahead of next week’s second leg against Benfica at Anfield.
Possible title decider
The match in Manchester is being billed by many as a title decider, with a City victory giving them a four-point lead with seven games to go while Liverpool would overtake their rivals with a win.
“If you win against City, which is already difficult enough, I think nobody would think, ‘OK, that’s it decided’ because of the quality of the opponent,” Klopp told reporters.
“Everybody knows about the importance of the next game, but after this game there will be other games in other competitions but in the Premier League as well.”
City midielder Kevin de Bruyne said there would still be so much to play for regardless of Sunday’s result.
“As a player you want to win games and trophies and if you want to do that then you need to win these big games,” the Belgian told Manchester City’s website. “But if you win, draw or lose, there is still a lot to play for.”
A joy to study Pep
Klopp is used to taking on Guardiola’s teams with his Borussia Dortmund side twice losing out to the Spaniard’s Bayern Munich team before the pair locked horns in England.
“If I would be a different person I would be, probably, a little bit depressed about the fact that Pep Guardiola is constantly coaching these kind of teams,” Klopp said on Thursday in an interview with Premier League Productions.
‘Maybe in Dortmund we could’ve won more titles if Pep wouldn’t have been at Bayern’
“Maybe in Dortmund we could’ve won more titles if Pep wouldn’t have been at Bayern. Now, it is pretty much the same, imagine if he would not be here, we probably could’ve won at least one more league title. But I am not like this, thank God. So, I am completely happy with our situation,” he said.Pep vs. Jurgen
Pep vs Jurgen
The Catalan and German coach have faced one another on 22 occasions across all competitions with a nine win, four draws and nine defeat balance so the victor in Sunday’s game will see that win ratio tilted in his favour also.
When it comes to winning trophies, the Catalan eclipses the German with Pep’s haul an impressive 31 pieces of major silverware in his time on the FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City bench with titles such as two Champions League wins with Barça, three Bundesliga wins with Bayern and two Premier League winners medals with City.
Klopp’s glories also take in both Bundesliga and Premier League with 10 major honours which include two Bundesliga titles with Dortmund along with a Premier League, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup winners medal in his spell on the Anfield bench.
