Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Sunday’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash with Manchester City will be no different from any other match and the German does not expect champions City to be under more pressure.
The match at the Etihad Stadium will likely play a key role in deciding the fate of the title race as a City victory would give them a four-point lead with seven games left, while Liverpool would overtake their rivals with a win.
City saw a 14-point lead over Liverpool in January reduced to one after Klopp’s team won ten consecutive league matches, but Klopp said that would not pile extra pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side.
“I know it was 14 points but we had two games in hand,” Klopp told British media. “I am not sure I have ever been 14 ahead and then all of a sudden only one. I wouldn’t imagine they feel more under pressure, to be honest.
“It is not that I think they are more under pressure than us – they play at home, they are calm and decisive in most of the games and we have to be as well.
“For us, it is very exciting, very interesting, I am really looking forward to it, but it is business as usual as well. It is just a big game, which we had since when we started our chase properly – all the games were finals and this is no different.”
With only one point separating City and Liverpool, Klopp praised his team’s improvement and said both clubs have pushed each other to get better.
“To be 100 per cent honest, I think they are the best football team in the world but they have only one point more than us in this time, so obviously we did something right,” Klopp added.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola meanwhile admits there are few weaknesses in the Liverpool side for his team to exploit.
Guardiola said: “In the times we’ve played against them there are always many games during the game, many decisions, many actions, many details for both sides.
“I think both teams are good but we try to discover the weak points that they have. They are few but we try to expose them.
“At the same time, we are at home with our people so must be ourselves. We’ve played them many times already, not just in the Premier League, and they were always very tight and good games.”
REUTERS