The Manchester City verdict on Liverpool, their transformation, and why Jurgen Klopp is Pep Guardiola’s kryptonite

Here we go. Manchester City v Liverpool at the Etihad, Matches do not come much bigger now in the Premier League - and tonight's one in particular. Cast your mind back a month and most supporters, maybe even Liverpool fans included, would have had City down as favourites to defend their title. But since their mask of invincibility slipped with 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on December 8, Pep Guardiola’s side have lost three of their last five league games, whereas Jurgen Klopp's relentless Reds have gone from strength to strength, extending their winning league to nine matches to open up a seven-point gap between the teams. So what has happened to City? Did they have any inkling Liverpool could be this consistent, this strong? And would defeat, or even a draw, tonight end their hopes? So to get the answers to those questions, Paul Wheelock speaks to Richard Burns, a City fan, writer and broadcaster, who is a regular on the long-standing Blue Moon podcast. They also talk the importance of Fernandinho, the return of Kevin de Bruyne, the problems Guardiola has at full-back, the growing rivalry between the clubs, as well as having some fun with a bit of fantasy football. You will then hear from our Liverpool FC correspondent James Pearce after he attended Klopp’s press conference, where the Reds manager responded to Guardiola’s claim that Liverpool are the best team in Europe. James also gives us the latest team news, offers his thoughts on the dynamic of tonight’s game, and gives us the reaction to the news that one-time Liverpool target Christian Pulisic is signing for Chelsea. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices