Liverpool v Manchester City, Anfield - Sunday 10 November 2019 KO: 16.30
Does this match need any more spice? Pep Guardiola thinks so. Last Saturday he turned what looked like a compliment - “Liverpool never give up” - into its opposite when he appeared to accuse Sadio Mane, or perhaps the entire Liverpool team, of being divers. Jurgen Klopp’s elegant reply made a small comment appear even smaller and also usefully reminded Sunday’s referee that Guardiola’s teams historically rely on the ‘tactical foul’ to prevent rapid counter-attacks.
Manchester City have an inferiority complex though. It shows in what Guardiola said. It shows in their wretched record at Anfield where they groan under the weight of the passion rolling off the Kop and never expect to win. Until the oil sheiks turned up in Manchester they were a big city club with a small town pedigree. And that’s being unfair on small towns like Blackburn and Huddersfield whose football teams had both won more league championships than the pre oil-soaked Man City. Those swathes of sky-blue empty seats at the Etihad Stadium, where the club-made banners and the advertising hoardings merge into each other - each as phoney as the other - are a permanent testimony to how ill-suited the club is to the big time. One day the oil will go and Man City will be playing Brentford and Millwall again. But until then…..
…Until then they represent formidable opposition that we shall need to overcome if we are to lift the trophy we crave. And Guardiola, for all his inept mind games and slightly hysterical manner, is undoubtedly a great coach. He’s yet to manage a side whose players do not bathe in asses’ milk after their matches, and probably never will, and therefore there will always be a question mark over just how good he is. But no one who enjoys football can deny that he produces highly watchable football teams that play to win and usually win in style.
But, there again, so do we! There’s a feeling that we are yet to hit top gear this season. That makes a daunting sentence when you remember that we are unbeaten in the league and have won all but one of our fixtures. Our fixtures, arguably, have been tougher so far than Man City’s too. But on Sunday both teams play their hardest game of the season.
Everyone seems to score at Anfield this season and therefore it seems likely that City will get at least one. But that’s not as final as it might once have been. In the last few games - an interesting sequence of ten 2-1 victories on the trot - the Reds have managed to put their noses in front by the end of the game. Therefore it all seems set up for another 4-3. At any rate it will be a vicious watch as well as an exhilarating one.
I think we’re stronger than we were last time they came down the East Lancs. We’re more confident for sure, and more battle-hardened too. And the fact that we are European Champions has added to the aura of our team as well as adding to another load of metal in the trophy room. The players are charged with supreme belief. You can see it every time they fall behind.
And this too. For the first time in a long time we have a bench that is truly distinguished. If things need to become fierier (or calmer) Jurgen can tweak the formation, but he can also add and subtract personnel without the quality dropping off. That’s the greatest advance we’ve made over the past 12 months.
No doubt the least imaginative RAWKites will soon be posting their desired team formations. So I won’t bother with mine, except to say I’d definitely start with Virgil Van Dijk.
My prediction is that the Reds will have a little too much, especially against a Man City defence that looks like a mistake is waiting to happen every time someone as much as breathes on it. As for Anfield. If ever a team needed that famous 12th man….
Endure and enjoy. How sweet it will be when we convert a 95th minute penalty to win. Come on You Mighty Reds.
