The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, thinks that Liverpool will continue to pose the greatest threat to his team's championship defense in the Premier League.
On Sunday at Anfield, tenth-placed Liverpool will play host to second-placed City. The Reds sit 13 points behind Guardiola's team.
The table is currently headed by Arsenal, with Antonio Conte's Tottenham finishing third, three points behind City.
When questioned on Friday, Guardiola responded that Liverpool "always have been" City's major title challengers.
With 10 games remaining, he responded, "If you posed that question, I would say I don't think Liverpool can catch the top of the league."
"However, given our current circumstances and the World Cup, everything is possible.
"I am aware of their caliber. I don't anticipate anything different because it's always been a challenging game.
Liverpool won the 2019–20 season by 18 points over City, who had won four of the last five Premier League championships.
In previous seasons, the Reds have twice forced City to the final day of the regular season, most recently last year when City came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 3-2 and denied Jurgen Klopp's team the Premier League championship and a shot at the Champions League.
In the final, Liverpool had more shots, possession, and everything else, yet they lost. At the time, Liverpool was vying for four significant English football trophies.
"Things can happen. This is the same team with, the same manager.
It is a feature of the competition itself. I analyze as a team, never looking at good or negative times since I always hope for the best.
The title might be decided in this weekend's game, according to Klopp, but "not with us."
The Liverpool manager said, "Of course, in the seasons when we were both running away, they enabled us to keep going, but this season is definitely different."
While Klopp has been in charge at Anfield for seven years, Guardiola has spent more than £500 million in only a year less.
And the German claims that Liverpool must find alternative means to compete since they are unable to equal City in the transfer market.
Klopp continued, "Nobody can match with City in that."
"With the best team in the world, you just add the best striker available (Erling Haaland), regardless of the cost.
"What is Liverpool's mission? They can't behave like us. It cannot be done. Three football clubs in the world have complete financial freedom. They are free to act however they like, even though everything is legal.
"We must examine it and declare, "We need that, we need that, and we must look here and make it younger, and here is a prospect, and here is a talent."
"You must carry out that action. And the two of you are rivals. You have to go up against them. Not at all a problem
It's all for me, so to speak.
"There is no ceiling for this club, according to something I've just heard from Newcastle, according to sporting director Dan Ashworth. Yes, he is entirely correct. Newcastle has no cap on its growth. Congratulations. Other clubs, however, have ceilings."
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