Premier League: Liverpool vs. Manchester City has a different feeling this year

Liverpool and Manchester City felt untouchable last season, but the Premier League leaders enter their first meeting of this campaign in more precarious form.

Twists and turns were expected, but none came.

Just one point divided Liverpool and Manchester City on March 3 last season, prompting predictions of the most compelling Premier League title race of recent times, but the difference remained just one point all the way until the ribbons were tied on the silverware at the end of May.

Last season was an anomaly. It’s unlikely we will ever see two teams set such standards at the top of the Premier League again. Liverpool won nine straight games to finish the campaign, while City won an astonishing 14 in a row. In any other season in Premier League history besides one (the season before), Liverpool would have romped to the title with 97 points.

Fixtures between these two teams last season felt like the meeting of an unstoppable force against an immovable object.

It was a clash to determine who was strongest and in a way that reflected the way the 2018/19 Premier League season panned out, there was next to nothing between them, with a 0-0 draw at Anfield and a narrow 2-1 win for City in the reverse game at the Etihad Stadium.

But with Liverpool and Man City set to clash for the first time this season on Sunday, there is a new dynamic. For starters, it’s the former who are leading the way. Jurgen Klopp’s side have enjoyed a remarkable start to the 2019/20 campaign, winning 10 of their opening 11 games to establish a six-point lead at the top of the table.

City, on the other hand, have suffered two defeats (to Norwich City and Wolves) from their opening 11 matches, also dropping points at home to Tottenham. There has been a significant drop-off from Pep Guardiola’s 2018/19 champions and Liverpool will fancy their chances of driving that home at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool have been less than convincing in their own way, though. Of course, there’s only so much you can criticize about a run that has seen them drop just two points from a possible 33, but the context behind their recent form is important, especially ahead of such an important match at the top of the table.

Klopp’s side might be winning, but they are not necessarily playing well. Take a look at their recent performances – first there was the narrow 1-0 win over promoted Sheffield United, only secured with the help of a goalkeeping blunder. Then there was the 4-3 victory over Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League which saw Liverpool let a three-goal lead slip at home before scoring a late winner.

Against Leicester City at home, the Reds only claimed three points after the award of a stoppage-time penalty, then came the 1-1 draw away to Manchester United when they were fortunate to escape with a point. Liverpool also performed below par against Spurs the following week, fighting back from 1-0 down to win 2-1.

This was immediately followed by a Carabao Cup tie against Arsenal which saw Klopp’s men concede five at home, albeit with a second string lineup. They only made it into the next round by virtue of a stoppage time leveller and a penalty shootout. Three days later came the win at Aston Villa, in which Liverpool scored an equalizer in the 87th minute and then a winner in the 94th minute to avoid defeat.

The temptation is to label such a run as the result of good fortune when in actual fact it is a sign of Liverpool’s mental strength and the work they do on the training ground. But it’s equally not the sign of a team playing at the top of their game either.

While Liverpool v Manchester City last season was a case of determining who was strongest, at this moment it might be a case of determining who is weakest.