Manchester City Fan View: City battle history in biggest match of the season

Manchester City head to Anfield on Sunday afternoon to face Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. The match pits the two form teams in the country against each other and some would argue that this is surely the fixture of the season.

Liverpool versus City is a big enough occasion in its own right these days; the Blues have surpassed their Merseyside rivals in the year-on-year hunt for silverware. They’ve faced each other down in a league title battle, competed in a cup final and their matches regularly produce a good number of goals.

If recent history means this is a game that piques the interest of football fans everywhere, then the climate it’s being played in guarantees its status as the biggest match of the campaign.

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City are 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League and it seems completely unfeasible that Pep Guardiola’s men won’t be lifting the trophy in May – or perhaps even earlier. Early season talk of completing a season unbeaten seemed fanciful, but now it must surely be a target, as 22 games have passed; City have won 20 and drawn 2. They have a goal difference of +51, which is higher than any other team’s points total.

Liverpool are in fantastic form themselves. Whilst they can’t consider themselves to be in a title race – they sit 18 points adrift of City – they’ve lost just two matches in the league and are making a beeline for second place. Their 17-game unbeaten run is the best they’ve produced under Klopp. Like City, they have an unwavering commitment to attacking football.

For City fans, a trip to Anfield is never reason for confidence. The Sky Blues have an abysmal record there, winning just once in 37 years. That came with a last-gasp 2-1 victory in 2003. It’s been a miserable hunting ground since. Throw in the fact that Klopp has the best record of any manager against Guardiola, winning five times against him, and you can see why the Liverpool fans might be feeling chipper ahead of the game.

So what of this trip? The reality is that we should be the most confident we’ve ever been, but the truth is there is a nagging feeling that Liverpool might just be the most well equipped side to end City’s streak. Their high-intensity pressing game and electric attacking football will surely test the Sky Blues in a way that no other team has been able.

Where the likes of Napoli, Crystal Palace and Bristol City have provided tests, the Reds stand a better chance of making it a concerted effort over 90 minutes. Only time will tell if Liverpool have been weakened by the loss of Philippe Coutinho, but the arrival of Virgil Van Dijk should ensure City face a stronger Reds defence than the one they put five goals past in September.

For City, this idea of facing “the biggest test of the season” isn’t new. The last time they came up against a side who seemed well set up to test them, it was Tottenham. Spurs went back to North London on the back of a 4-1 shellacking. Nobody should expect the same margin against Liverpool, but we do know that City have handled similar occasions with ease over the course of the season.

City hardly need to make any statement of intent anymore – their quality speaks for itself.

However, a win at Anfield would probably be the most impressive result of the season so far. The weight of history in this fixture is against them, but as Pep intimated on Friday, records are there to be broken.