This weekend's fixture versus Manchester City promises to be an intriguing spectacle.
In recent years, this has been the biggest fixture for us when we’ve been going for the league. That’s not the case this season, but we have to go there and do what we can. Regardless of whether it’s at 8pm on a Tuesday night or 12:30pm on a Saturday afternoon, you’ve got to be ready to take on the task in hand. If we're to get a result, it is an absolute must for us to be disciplined defensively as they are so good going forward.
Our away form has been a big problem all season, so what better place to put an end to this recurring theme than at the Etihad. If you can win at City, you can win anywhere. The main issue is we don’t know which Liverpool we’re going to get on Saturday and Jurgen probably doesn’t know either. What I would say, though, is that if you can’t raise your game against City, like we did against Manchester United and Newcastle, you shouldn’t be playing football.
READ MORE: Liverpool press ahead with Jude Bellingham bid but uncertainty surrounds plans
READ MORE: Klopp has warned Liverpool about £40m transfer that could help solve crisis
Phil Foden has been ruled out of Saturday and Erling Haaland is said to be a doubt for City. Foden will be a big miss for them but, as for Haaland, City always play these games when they play against Liverpool so it would be no surprise to him starting at the weekend. It is not much use us worrying about who will be starting for them regardless, for Guardiola has quality players at his disposal all over the pitch. All we can do is go out there and win our battles, which will give us a good chance of coming away with something.
The question I would be asking the Liverpool players before this game is 'How much do you want to play at the Bernabeu next year'? That’s something they have to look in the mirror and ask themselves, having experienced being at that ground this month. Do you want to be in the Europa League or the Conference League?
Our games from now until the end of the season are all cup finals. We are in a mini-league for fourth place with Tottenham, Newcastle and possibly Chelsea. We have to come top of that league. We can only go game-by-game: don’t even look at the upcoming fixtures with Chelsea or Arsenal. You can’t afford to and, if you do, you’re unprofessional. Everything is geared to the next game and those fixtures are in the distance. At 3pm on Saturday, you can then look forward to taking on Chelsea.
Reduced allocation imposed by City should work both ways
An incident during the League Cup meeting between the sides in December has resulted in a reduced ticket allocation for Liverpool fans this weekend. I don't condone the behaviour of fans who throw coins at supporters inside the stadium, they're all idiots regardless of which team they follow.
Fair enough if Manchester City choose to take this action, but can we impose the same rules on them when they next come to Anfield and sing derogatory songs? That’s another way we can put an end to Hillsborough songs once and for all.
READ NEXT:
- Erling Haaland, Phil Foden: Man City injury list and availability for Liverpool
- Jurgen Klopp faces anxious wait over £175m Liverpool quartet
- Liverpool chairman left in tears after striking worst deal in club history
- Steven Gerrard says he knows what Harry Kane is thinking over transfer as Liverpool comparison made
- Jude Bellingham has perfect response to Jack Grealish's 'come to Man City' plea
