Manchester City and Liverpool. These are the English hegemons of recent years, who are once again vying for the championship title. This year for the fourth time in a row.
Even during the spring, both teams act almost flawlessly and usually fight their opponents with extraordinary naturalness. That’s why the first Citizens and the second Reds in the table after thirty rounds are only one point apart. And that’s why the second Liverpool team built an almost 20-point cushion on the third Chelsea, which some forecasts favored in the title race before the season.
„All in!“
Without undue exaggeration, Sunday’s hit offers a confrontation between the world’s two best teams. At the same time, Manchester will not only have three extraordinary points in the league table. Literally everything is at stake. “All in!” The fate of the whole season for both teams will be fundamentally based on the result, which will be born after 90 minutes at Etihad Stadium. Whoever wins in Manchester will gain something much more valuable in addition to three points and temporary security – a psychic advantage over his head, with which he can compete for a triumph in the Champions League in the spring in addition to the Premier League and FA Cup.
Although it will be every inch of the field, let’s forget about the boring tug-of-war or the defensive festival in the style of Atletics Madrid. Both units are evidenced by an offensive cocktail mixed with sips of elegant cooperation and a technically perfect transition to attack. Both teams will try to dominate their opponent. Both Liverpool and Manchester City are adorned with a strict pace, no fear of waiting. And that’s exactly what hits viewers love.
Aspen in the ass
The autumn match took place in the style of a captivating physical performance. Home Liverpool was most often threatened by poisonous breaks along the Salah-Mané axis, after which it was able to assert itself twice. At that time, the guests were able to take full advantage of the absence of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, after whom the hole on the right edge of the defense had to be glued by the universal James Milner. This was tirelessly ventilated by Phil Foden, who first equalized at 1: 1 to present Kevin de Bruyne, who was right, in the last ten minutes.
In general, the last matches of these northwestern rivals have a generally explosive charge and will not disappoint.
The unique philosophies of the two coaches, which differ fundamentally from each other at the heart of the matter, but still compete well in many ways, are clearly reflected on the pitch through these swords on the pitch. Jürgen Klopp on the bench of Liverpool is the embodiment of the endless stream of energy he transmits to his charges. Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, instills the Citizens players in terms of technical and tactics, probably the most advanced medicine.
“What the Guardiola is doing to the City is crazy. Thanks to their complexity, we move to the highest level. Guardiola is the best coach of the day for me, “said Klopp. “They have been our biggest rivals in the past seasons. This is also true this year. They are an asshole in our asses, “said Guardiola.
Undoubtedly, both counterparts on the benches are the main architects of the modern success of their current employers. Thanks to them, we can look forward to the match of the year between the club powers. Both are also responsible for launching two football brands, without which we would probably not be able to imagine the current Citizens or Reds staff. New faces have become modern symbols of the golden era.
The most modern prototypes of the complex football player model have appeared on the world football scene. The offspring, who do not miss the top of the talent or the cauldron of diligence. It is precisely such players who subordinate the absolute maximum to their performance that often decide tense duels. Which of them will have the upper hand on Sunday?
Rivals under the microscope
21-year-old Phil Foden, who can play practically anywhere between the backup and the attack, should introduce himself as the home team. This remarkable guy has been with the club since he was nine. In 2009, when the young Phil came to the City, they counted in the club only a year after being taken over by Sheikh Mansour, the new owner. The club was just crossing the threshold of a new era under coach Robert Mancini. Simply put, the 2009 Manchester City had virtually nothing to do with today’s.
In the next eight years, marked by heavy investments from the Arabian Peninsula, two titles appeared and Citizens established themselves in the field of the billionaire Champions League. As a product of a state-of-the-art academy to which the club has eagerly pumped more than £ 200 million, Foden has matured into elite performance. Foden had the opportunity to break through in life at the age of 17.
Since then, under Guardiol’s leadership, he has managed to collect 91 starts and three titles in the Premier League! When nothing dramatic happens, the talented Foden will join the centurions of the most demanding league in the world later this year. Since Foden’s premiere season, the Citizens have accumulated an average of 20 points more per season than their city rivals from the United.
Against Foden et al. will stand on the right edge treated Trent Alexander-Arnold. This 23-year-old universal has been working in the Liverpool jersey since he was six years old. As a teenager, he looked out as a teenager in the 2016/2017 season. At that time, there were still many fighters in the staff who did not have the necessary physical resources or game quality for Klopp’s strenuous style. Nevertheless, after a three-year fast, the Reds finally managed to qualify for the Champions League, in which they only reached the final a year later.
At the age of 20, Trent already had two final in the Champions League and one overall championship. A year later, he hit the coveted Premier League title, which arid Liverpool achieved after 30 years of drought. Klopp based his strategy largely on the extraordinary work of extreme defenders, who became different players. In his job description, the “TAA” has as its teammates supplying dangerous passports as an inexhaustible machine with a built-in patent for accurate delivery.
Through the eyes of experts
It is interesting that both puppies, who are already an integral part of the symbols of the modern era in both camps, would fit their game concept into the concept of their rival. Foden embodies the predation, straightforwardness and instinct of the killer, a kind of Liverpool strength. Trent excels in first-class distribution and exceptional football intelligence, which perfectly characterizes the Guardiola system. This also makes Sunday’s confrontation a little more special.
“I am primarily curious what role Guardiola will eventually assign to Foden. If Foden takes the position of a fake nine, he will be given the task of renumbering the opponent in the middle of the field and will try to overcome the central defensive wall created by the stoppers and Fabinho. I’d rather see him on the wing, because he has a better chance of becoming a “X” factor from Liverpool. He can more easily gain speed with the ball from the wing and make full use of his skills in one-on-one fights, “anticipates Kristián Flak, a Slovak footballer and admirer of the Manchester City style of play.
Foden probably won’t avoid an honest defensive shift on Sunday. “It should be added that in both positions he will be required to have a large pension without balloon work and a high number of running meters in the sprint. Liverpool won’t do it any other way, “he adds.
The pre-match forecasts will certainly address a relatively dull topic in connection with Liverpool. They see Alexander-Arnold’s City of Trent as Liverpool’s defensive weakness – because, as it sometimes sounds, he “can’t defend”? One good piece of advice to start with: this phrase is not good to mention before coach Jürgen Klopp, who voted for it after the Reds’ victory at Arsenal (2: 0). “If someone says that Trent can’t defend him, he’ll come to me, I’ll ground him,” quotes Liverpool coach Karel Häring, author of Football Club magazine and a longtime fan of The Reds.
“How is the Premier League this season? Of the 20 goals scored by the Anfield team, 17 were scored in matches involving the TAA. He carried the share in the second goal from Brentford, but at that time he was left alone on the back pole for three. He should have orientated himself better in the third. He definitely scored goals from West Ham (2: 3) or Leicester (0: 1), when he did not catch his players during the break, “Häring analyzes the situation.
Trent is most criticized for defending himself in personal battles. Stuart James, a journalist from The Athletic Project, watched over a hundred clips of one-to-one fights from the current season. Result? The TAA lost more than they won.
“It is necessary to take into account here the style of individual teams and what the role of individual true defenders in them. We know from Alexander-Arnold that he works more like a midfielder who has a unique digging technique. Since his national team debut in June 2018, he has scored 43 goal assists in the Premier League. No one in the whole competition has more than that during that time, except Kevin de Bruyne! So it’s an exaggeration to say: who cares if he can’t defend, “says Häring.
“It is, of course, likely that he will have problems with City players. Like any other back in the world due to the individual qualities of Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden or Jack Grealish. But he will also torment his opponents at the other end of the field, “he adds.
What’s in the game?
Starting Sunday, there are still 24 league points in the game for both teams. But this match is a temporary final. Whoever manages it will gain a huge advantage over his competitor not only within the domestic league. Just 6 days later, the two teams will compete in the semifinals of the FA Cup at Wembley. And if they succeed in the Champions League, they will meet again – in the finals in Paris on May 28.
The kick-off of the match is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The match is broadcast by paid Premier Sport 1.
