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Pep Guardiola goes into this weekend to face Liverpool in his 1,000th match as a manager as both sides look to cut the lead on Arsenal in the Premier League
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Pep Guardiola is set to mark his 1,000th game as a manager in fitting style, as his Manchester City side welcome reigning Premier League champions Liverpool for Sunday’s highly anticipated showdown.
After 10 matches, City hold a slender one-point and one-place advantage over the Reds at the top of the Premier League, though Arne Slot’s revitalized Liverpool have found their form at just the right time.
When Guardiola took charge of his first professional match, Sven-Goran Eriksson was managing Manchester City, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were leading the line for Manchester United, and Sean Kingston’s "Beautiful Girls" topped the UK charts. Fast forward more than 18 years, and Guardiola will reach the four-figure milestone in Sunday’s Etihad spectacle—a landmark he admits is made all the more special by facing Liverpool, arguably his greatest rivals, aside from Jurgen Klopp’s era.
Guardiola’s 999th match was a memorable one, as City cruised to a 4-1 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund, inspired by a standout performance from Phil Foden ahead of his England recall. Erling Haaland continued his remarkable scoring run, becoming the first City player to net in five consecutive Champions League games, and adding to his tally with a brace in last weekend’s 3-1 league win over Bournemouth.
A win on Sunday could see second-placed City close the gap to just three points behind Arsenal—provided Sunderland can upset the current leaders on Saturday. City’s recent form is impressive, with 10 goals in their last three outings, giving their supporters plenty of reason for optimism.
A few weeks ago, Liverpool might have been daunted by those numbers, having failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 straight matches between September 17 and October 29. However, Slot’s team have rediscovered their defensive solidity. Their 2-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa was followed by a deserved 1-0 Champions League victory against Real Madrid at Anfield, where only Thibaut Courtois’s heroics prevented a bigger margin.
After a run of inconsistent results, Liverpool have climbed back into the Premier League’s top three. Slot’s next challenge is to end a three-game losing streak away from home in the league; the Reds are in danger of suffering four consecutive away defeats in the top flight for the first time since April 2012, under Kenny Dalglish.
Dalglish would have enjoyed last season’s meetings, as Slot guided Liverpool to back-to-back 2-0 wins over City in the 2024-25 Premier League. However, remarkably, the Reds have never won successive away games against City in the competition.
Man City vs Liverpool Betting Tips
- Both teams to score - 1/2 (Betfred)
- Erling Haaland to score anytime - 8/13 (Betfred)
- Over 2.5 goals - 1/2 (Betfred)
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