Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards accused Gary Lineker of 'jinxing' his old club ahead of their titanic Premier League clash with Liverpool next weekend.
Richards, now a television pundit, appeared on Saturday evening's Match of the Day alongside host Lineker, as the pair assessed the Premier League title credentials of both sides.
But when the latter pointed out that the Reds had only won once in their last 10 visits to the Etihad stadium, Richards was not impressed.
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He said: “Are you trying to jinx it?” before Lineker responded: "“You told me that earlier." The hosts' claim forced Richards to clarify his concern, adding: “But I didn’t want to share it”, to which Lineker argued: “I know you didn’t want to share because you thought it would jinx it, and now you are accusing me. I am just giving you a fact.”
Only a point separates the Reds from Pep Guardiola's table-toppers, but a win for Jurgen Klopp's side next Sunday would put Liverpool two points clear and swing the eventual outcome in their favour with seven games to go.
The top two sides in England will meet again, the following weekend, in the FA semi-final at Wembley and could still yet go head-to-head in Paris at the end of the season, if both teams make it to the Champions League Final.
Liverpool stand on the edge of history with the chance to win a quadruple of major trophies still very much alive. But the huge match-up with the Sky Blues next Sunday will go a long way to determining the destination of the Premier League trophy this campaign.
