11 hours ago
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Manchester City take on Liverpool in just over a week and Liverpool manager Arne Slot has offered the Blues a boost.
Last season when Manchester City met Liverpool, Pep Guardiola had to endure galling Scouse cries that he would be sacked in the morning. Ahead of their first game of this campaign, Arne Slot has helped City a lot without Guardiola having to lift a finger.
It was all looking ominous for the Blues in the beginning when they were eight points behind the Premier League champions after just five games. City's manager was concerned first and foremost for the levels of his own team, but also of the gap that had already been created.
However, an astonishing four league defeats in a row for Liverpool has meant that City sit above them in the table, even after last Sunday's defeat to Villa. Win at home to Bournemouth on Sunday and a week later they will have the chance to go at least four points clear of Slot's side.
Problems are mounting on Merseyside. A much-changed XI by Slot in the Carabao Cup saw them lose 3-0 at home to Crystal Palace to meekly end their hopes of the first trophy of the season.
Selection gambles are always a risk, and Slot risked further derision after the match when he compared his team to the one Guardiola had put out at Swansea. "Before I went out, I saw the City line-up and I don't think they had one starter from the weekend but it felt like when you looked at the line-up they played with their 11 starters."
At worst, Slot is trying to suggest that City's best team does not contain players such as Erling Haaland or Gianluigi Donnarumma. All Guardiola needs to do to those players is calmly tell them to go out and educate Slot on their talents.
But even if he did not mean that - and surely he cannot have done because it would be a spectacular headloss - the alternative is that he is saying Liverpool do not have the same squad depth as City.
To which the obvious answer is don't break the British transfer record twice in one summer if you would rather spread your monstrous transfer spend across more players.
For Guardiola, it is enough that Slot has come out moaning after a defeat with the pressure mounting. Liverpool take on City's conquerors Aston Villa in the league this weekend and they can't be going into the game with any more confidence after their manager has drastically reduced the number of players he is saying can compete for them.
City found out last season how quickly things can fall apart, yet even they could not have expected such an extraordinary crumbling from Liverpool when they were eight points behind them in September.
Slot potentially adding to mentality issues only gives Guardiola more of a helping hand when he comes to prepare his team for next Sunday.
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