Shaun Wright-Phillips believes Manchester City vs Liverpool is 'up there' among the Premier League's greatest rivalries ahead of another meeting this weekend.
City host Jurgen Klopp's side on Saturday looking to gain an early advantage on league leaders Arsenal, who are currently eight points clear and play Leeds United later that day. Despite Liverpool enduring a tough campaign and sitting sixth, the Blues will be under no illusions over the task at hand.
For so many years it was the Merseyside club who pushed City all the way, twice taking Pep Guardiola's side to the final day of the season and once pipping them to top spot. Their meetings produced some of the league's greatest games in recent years, and Wright-Phillips believes it racks up among the greatest rivalries.
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"For me, it has to be up there," Wright Phillips told Betway. "I don't think I can recall so many consecutive seasons when two teams were neck and neck in the title race, pushing each other to the heights that City and Liverpool have pushed each other to.
"Not just in terms of points but also the number of goals that they've had to score because they're worried about goal difference. Those title races were phenomenal. The title race now is outstanding as well, but I don't think they've pushed each other to the same level yet."
The protagonists of recent years have undoubtedly been Guardiola and Klopp, the pair so often animated on the touchline and exchanging heated words. And Wright-Phillips believes the pair have brought so much to the game.
Asked whether their rivalry is similar to that of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, he added: "I'd say it's completely different. Sir Alex and Wenger set certain examples, and now Pep and Klopp have set a different example in terms of the way the game is played. Football has evolved and, in a way, is played completely different to back then.
"They've set an example for people like Arteta, and now you can see after Arteta, you've got Michael Carrick and Vincent Kompany coming through. It breeds down the chain a whole new style of football among young managers, which is fantastic.
"Arteta has taken what he knows, mixed it with what he learned from Pep, and now he's challenging for the title. That's all in the space of two or three years, and he's said they're ahead of schedule already.
"What these two have brought to the game is incredible because there's so many young managers that want to manage the way that Pep and Klopp do and then take it to the next level. I can't wait to see where football goes next."
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