Anfield and Liverpool await Manchester City but Pep Guardiola’s side must embrace the challenge | OneFootball

This Sunday Manchester City will face Liverpool in a massive Premier League fixture. Anfield awaits the world champions and Arne Slot’s in-form side will be eager to continue City’s winless run. There is no doubt that Pep Guardiola’s side are wounded as they continue preparations for their fixture against Liverpool. But while the City squad may be feeling sorry for themselves after a six-game winless run they must embrace the challenge that awaits them on Sunday.

Anfield has been a thorn in Manchester City’s side during Pep Guardiola’s reign as City manager. Manchester City have only won once at Anfield during Guardiola’s spell as manager. High-flying Manchester City sides of the past have fallen at Liverpool’s home. This time, the world champions will head to Anfield in their worst run of form during Guardiola’s reign as manager. That isn’t the ideal situation to be faced with when facing the prospect of playing at an unhappy hunting ground. What awaits them is an in-form Liverpool outfit.

Arne Slot’s side sit 8 points clear at the top of the Premier League table. They will come into Sunday’s match off the back of a convincing 2-nil win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. While there are familiar faces who have tormented City in the past in Liverpool’s lineup, like Mo Salah, for example, this Liverpool side is a different entity entirely to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side. Arne Slot has put his imprint on the hosts for Sunday’s match and they do look to be a more formidable proposition. But they aren’t unbeatable. Their only loss this season came at Anfield to Nottingham Forest in the form of a 1-nil defeat earlier this season. So while they are formidable they aren’t impenetrable. Manchester City must draw strength from that result.

Pep Guardiola’s side must face the challenge of playing at Anfield head-on.

Pep Guardiola’s squad must embrace the challenge that awaits on Sunday. They know all too well the challenges of playing at the home of Liverpool. But it is a challenge they must embrace. If they do, it could prove to be the ideal tonic to snap Pep Guardiola’s side out of their recent funk.

Manchester City are woefully out of form at the moment. Across their 6 game-winless run individual errors, defensive lapses, a lack of energy and a host of other issues like injuries and fatigue have plagued Pep Guardiola’s side. Opponents no longer fear the world champions, which has been especially evident in City’s past two games against Tottenham and Feyenoord. Liverpool won’t fear Pep Guardiola’s side either. But this is the backdrop Manchester City must embrace. It’s time they stood up to be counted as a collective. Anfield will be a hostile environment for a wounded City squad to face. But it also could be the ideal setting for Pep Guardiola’s side to snap out of their funk and shake off their recent poor form.

But to do that, Manchester City must embrace the challenge posed by Liverpool and Anfield. There is no time for the world champions to be daunted by a challenge they know all too well. They can’t afford to leave Anfield empty-handed. That would see them fall 11 points behind Arne Slot’s side in the Premier League title race. It would almost be a title-ending blow if they do lose on Sunday. So they must embrace the challenge that awaits them on Sunday. It’s their only choice as they prepare to take on a high-flying Liverpool side.