Man City has acquired a 'new weapon' to challenge Liverpool

Coach Pep Guardiola confirms that Manchester City holds an important factor to fairly contest with Liverpool and Arsenal in the championship battle this season.

Over nearly a decade in England, Man City and Liverpool have consistently been each other's biggest rivals. However, last season Guardiola's team significantly declined due to a wave of injuries. Both matches against Liverpool were unimpressive: at Anfield late in the year, Man City only had 2 goalkeepers and 2 academy players on the bench; in the return match, 4 new signings also failed to make a difference. Guardiola Last season, Man City suffered a notable drop because of injury troubles. Both fixtures versus Liverpool showed poor performances: at Anfield near year's end, the bench included only 2 goalkeepers and 2 academy players; in the second encounter, 4 newcomers couldn't impact the game.

This season began with difficulties for Man City as Liverpool pulled 8 points ahead after just 5 rounds. But the unexpected slump of the Merseyside team enabled Man City to catch up. Before the weekend round, Pep Guardiola's squad even topped the standings and will leverage home advantage to extend their lead.

According to MEN, despite all eyes being on Erling Haaland and his devastating scoring form, Pep Guardiola insists the most important thing is that he now has a stronger lineup and much better squad depth compared to last season. The defeat to Aston Villa last month remains Man City's only loss in their last 13 matches across all competitions, giving them strong confidence heading into the big clash.

Pep said: “Looking at the bench now, we have enough ‘weapons’ to change the course of the game and adjust our tactical system. I only ask the players to always be ready. The substitutes from the first minute must feel like they are playing, because the impact from the bench is huge nowadays. Last season, we didn't have that.”

The Spanish coach emphasized that Man City has regained their winning spirit: “We have to prove everything again. The two recent wins helped the team recover after the loss to Villa. The match against Swansea showed many positives, especially in attacking a low defensive line. Bournemouth and Dortmund also helped us regain rhythm.”

Pep Guardiola praised Liverpool's squad quality: “I watched them play against Real Madrid. Liverpool's quality in every position is truly outstanding. They are a top team. But we have home advantage and hope the fans will come to celebrate my special day and help us defeat this strong opponent.”

Both Man City and Liverpool aim not to let Arsenal pull too far ahead. The "Gunners" currently lead the Premier League by 7 points. However, Pep believes in the familiar scenario: Arsenal will stumble and Man City will surge in the second half of the season.

“If they keep playing like this and don’t concede, it will be almost impossible to overtake them. But you always expect to improve, and they might drop points. We have to win our matches and stay close. They still have to play away here, and the season still has many twists.”

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