Jurgen Klopp wants Kevin De Bruyne to be fit so Liverpool can beat the best Manchester City

De Bruyne has returned to training this week having been sidelined for almost two months with a knee injury

Jurgen Klopp wants Kevin De Bruyne to play (Getty)

Jurgen Klopp “100 per cent” wants Kevin de Bruyne to play at Anfield on Sunday, believing that Liverpool should face the best Manchester City side possible.

The Belgium midfielder trained with City on Friday after almost two months out with a knee injury, and is in contention to play against Klopp’s side, according to Pep Guardiola.

Liverpool and City, along with Chelsea, are expected to be the main contenders for this season’s Premier League title, making the meeting at Anfield a mouthwatering prospect.

Klopp has had the beating of Guardiola in their past three meetings, ending City’s 22-match unbeaten league start last January, then knocking them out of the Champions League in a two-legged quarter-final tie in April.

The Liverpool manager is keen to show once again that his players can be better than the defending English champions when they meet face-to-face, but suggested it would be a more satisfying contest if De Bruyne played.

“Yeah, 100 per cent,” Klopp said. "I really like him, as a player. His talent, skills, attitude and then with all those things, decision making. He uses the right skills at the right moment, although of course David Silva [his City team-mate] is not too bad at that either.

"That is the best combination. Kevin is still at an age where he can improve a lot. He is 26, so there is a lot more to come. And he is an outstanding, nice fellow as well.

“When did his injury happen? August? Now it’s October. That’s really quick. Unbelievable.

Kevin De Bruyne may return this weekend (Getty)

“I don’t know what happened, because in England, you don’t get real information about injuries. That’s completely different to Germany, by the way.

“When I heard about it first, I didn’t think that it would be that quick, but if he’s in, that’s always the target. We want to beat City. That’s no secret. We shall try that.

“But we want to beat the best City, and Kevin de Bruyne, for sure, is part of the best City team. I am not sure if Ilkay Gundogan will play, so Kevin would fit that position pretty well.”

Gundogan is a doubt for Sunday’s game after limping off as City beat Hoffenheim 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday, although Guardiola will be able to field a strong side even if his injury doubts do not recover in time.

Kevin De Bruyne tussles with Fiminho (Getty)

Guardiola has won 24 trophies in a coaching career than began with Barcelona in 2008, and Klopp sees that has proof that his City counterpart has no current equal in the world game.

“He is the best manager in the world, no doubt about that,” Klopp said. “People said he has always had better teams than I had, but I would not even compare myself with him. I see his teams playing and I know that is really exceptional.”

Klopp, though, stopped short of comparing the former Bayern Munich manager with Liverpool greats Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

“What he has been doing since he started his career as a manager, I never heard of something similar,” he said. “People in Liverpool would say differently about Big Bill and Big Bob, but it is hard to compare eras as the times are completely different. But still doing the right things consistently is quality, obviously.”