Look back from the past ten years at some of the Real Madrid and Barcelona teams. They would battle for that league title every season and their sides would have the most quality in the world of football. Ronaldo, Messi, Villa, Neymar, Casillas. That is only a few names. They were the two best teams in the world. Now the two best belong to England. The North West of England.
Liverpool. The new Premier League Champions. The current holders of the Champions League and the Club World Cup. Lost two league games in two seasons. Manchester City. Won the domestic treble last season whilst also winning back to back titles. On course for another treble this season. These two sides are unquestionably the best teams in the world. Now they come up against each other.
The added spice of Liverpool taking the Premier League crown off Manchester City at the Etihad was taken away as Chelsea beat City 2-1 last week, inadvertently confirming Liverpool as champions sparking the maddest of celebrations around the city. Celebrations that have been on hold for 30 years. Some scenes were unsavoury, but the majority of people were having the time of their life and rightly so.
After drinking in all the celebrations that supporters will remember forever there will be even more reason to celebrate if Liverpool can beat Guardiola’s team yet again. With a guard of honour confirmed it will be interesting to see how the team in blue react. Liverpool will want the points record and every other record available to them so it would be a surprise to see them take their foot off the gas.
Their previous encounters have been games for the ages and this one should be as well. These football matches have shown to have the most quality. Overtaking the El Clásico. Last seasons game at the Etihad stadium. 2-1 to Manchester City. This seasons encounter. 3-1 to Liverpool. The Champions League quarter-final legs two season ago. They all portrayed how entertaining these games are for the neutral and also how nerve wracking they are for the supporters of each side as Guardiola and Klopp try all they can to beat each other.
When Klopp first joined and came up against Guardiola the games were battles. Now each team battle for the title. It emphasises how far Liverpool have come and how amazing Jurgen Klopp has done. He certainly has not finished though. In his latest press conference for the match on Thursday night he made a statement of intent for next season saying that ‘We will not defend the title, we will attack the next one’. A sentence that suits Jurgen Klopp down to the ground. He will want to show he means it by winning on Thursday.
With regards to team news for the game there is three players who are certain not to play. Them three players are Joel Matip, Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero. The assertive centre half will be missing the rest of the season due to the injury he picked up against Everton. As for Leroy Sane he has agreed a deal to join Bayern Munich for a fee of around £54 million to Liverpool fans delight and Aguero is still suffering from the injury he picked up against Burnley.
Other than that James Milner will still be a doubt after his injury against Everton and also Manchester City’s Eric Garcia is still a doubt after suffering concussion against Arsenal.
So, it may be fair to suggest that City have a disadvantage with injuries as they miss Aguero who is one of the best Premier League strikers of all time. However, Manchester City have assembled one of the most expensive teams of all time so they will be able to replace him with quality striker Gabriel Jesus.
Manchester City versus Liverpool behind closed doors. It will be one hell of a tactical showdown with no supporters driving their team on. It is another chapter in the Guardiola Klopp war. A footballing war that will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. The points gap means nothing. These two teams are the best in the world. What a game it promises to be.
Champions new against Champions of old. Liverpool against Manchester. Red against Blue. The battle of the North West is the biggest game in the world so make sure you are watching.
Written by Elliot Thompson
