Guardiola's stinging statement ahead of City's visit to Anfield, Klopp shocked

Pep Guardiola is convinced that Liverpool, despite sitting mid-table, pose the biggest threat to Manchester City in the Premier League this season ahead of Sunday's clash between the two clubs at Anfield. The Spanish manager has warned his players that they will suffer defeat if they are "lukewarm" to their opponents, as has been the case in recent games. City are second in the standings and 13 points clear of Liverpool, whose German manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted his side can no longer challenge for the title because of their early-season struggles.

However, Guardiola insists last season's runners-up remain the main challengers to City, current holders of the league title. "Always has been, always is and always will be," Guardiola said on Friday. "I know the quality they have, they know the quality we have. If you had asked me this question at a time when there were five or 10 games left in the season, I would say Liverpool have no chance of winning the league, in this case (matching) Arsenal.

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"But where we are at, with the World Cup, anything can still happen." Guardiola has managed just one victory at Anfield since taking over as City manager in 2016 - a 4-1 win in 2021 without fans due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, Guardiola rejected assertions that the high intensity of the atmosphere at Anfield has been a factor in making it difficult for Manchester to achieve victory there.

"Of course the crowd weighs on every stadium, but the main thing is the good team they have," he said. "It's one of the big ones (for the atmosphere), one of the nicest, and it's nice to be there ... But as I said before, it's a football game, it's about Liverpool and an important aspect is their quality." Liverpool beat City 3-1 to win the Community Shield in August and also defeated them 3-2 in the FA Cup semi-finals.

'Liverpool are the toughest opponents'

"Maybe in the last two games we were a little bit lukewarm because of different circumstances," Guardiola said. "You have to win the games. If they press you, you have to press. Where they are, we have to be. For the FA Cup semi-finals, it was difficult to recover from the incredible effort we had made in the Champions League. We weren't ready yet in the Community Shield. They brought more pace than us and without that, against that team, you can't compete."