Title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City not certain to play out a thriller

Manchester City cannot afford to lose Sunday's crunch Premier League clash against Liverpool at the Etihad and that could lead to a tight match between the big two with the draw the pick of the best bets.

The gap between the two is at five points with City holding a game in hand, but should they lose even at this early stage eight points will feel like a chasm.

They simply can't allow Liverpool the same kind of early advantage as last year because the Merseysiders have shown they have the taste for a front run. It's a bit like Tiger Woods in his pomp.

City must stay close to the champions and that means the fear of losing could override the desire to take maximum points. I say that knowing full well that Pep Guardiola would never play for a point but he will also be wary of over-committing against Liverpool.

No other manager comes close to Klopp's record against Guardiola. The German boasts nine wins and clearly there is something about the way he gets his team to play that unsettles Pep.

Any team can play with the intensity of Liverpool but when you combine that work with quality both individually and as a team that is when you begin to build on something special.

City need to respect Liverpool and I hope the game is better than the 0-0 they played out in October 2018, but I would not be surprised if we got something similar.

From an enjoyment point of view an early goal lights it up but the longer we have to wait for the first score I suspect it could become quite edgy.

It looks like City have tightened up at the back with Ruben Dias coming in alongside Aymeric Laoprte. They look like a nice balance - right foot/left foot, both like to defend and are good on the ball.

Gabriel Jesus gets too much stick for my liking. He is speedy and intelligent and I think he is getting better but the problem is Jesus is coming in for a genuine world-class player in the injured Sergio Aguero and not many would be able to replace the Argentinian.

Liverpool have a different type of problem to solve in their attacking unit - who to leave out. I'd stick with Diogo Jota after his hat-trick against Atalanta, although I suspect Klopp will go for Roberto Firmino.

As a footballer, Firmino is incredible and Klopp knows he can trust him but Jota will be absolutely flying.

The problem for Liverpool is this could be the type of game where Virgil van Dijk's absence is felt. It's one thing doing okay against West Ham but this is two or three levels up on that.

I wonder if Klopp is tempted to pick a more defensive midfield to protect his defence as they may need more cover than usual. If he does that will only increase the chances of a stalemate.

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