Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp facing two very different challenges as Man City meet Liverpool

The meeting of the two best teams in the country used to be title-defining but in a season that feels different already that won’t be the case this time around

Man City manager Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (Getty Images)

On the training grounds, the preparations of Manchester City and Liverpool have been a little different for a bit match against each other. They haven’t been as charged. That is because the nature of the fixture has suddenly changed.

This feels like the first in some time where the title hasn’t been on the line. The last two where anything has been on the line - so, naturally excluding the July 2020 dead rubber - have effectively decided the destination of the trophy.

City’s 2-1 win in January 2019 was enough to win the title by a point on the final day.

Liverpool’s 3-1 win 10 months later was enough to put Jurgen Klopp’s side too far ahead by November. It effectively finished the race.

Their meetings in the two years before those showdowns had meanwhile set the stage for such a defining rivalry, introducing a spark, and indicating the intensity of performance to come.

Part of the reason this game just doesn’t feel as imposing is because this is a more open and erratic season.

And part of the reason for that is because both sides have dropped off, allowing more margin for error, because both now face different challenges as teams. They are challenges that are psychological as much as anything, which directly relates to that intensity.

Klopp is trying to become one of those rare managers to retain the English title, that prove they can keep their champions to the same base level of competitiveness.

Only 13 in history have managed it: William Sudell at Preston North End; Tom Watson at Sunderland; George Ramsay at Aston Villa, twice; Arthur Dickinson at Sheffield Wednesday; Herbert Chapman at Huddersfield Town; Bob Jackson at Portsmouth; Sir Matt Busby at Manchester United; Stan Cullis at Wolves; Bob Paisley at Liverpool, three times; Sir Alex Ferguson, six times; Jose Mourinho twice and - most recently - Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Klopp could thereby look across the line for some lessons.

Guardiola, however, could also look across at the opposition for lessons on his challenge.

He is trying to become an even rarer manager to build a new title-winning team at the same club, in the same spell.

Only six managers have done that: Busby, twice; Harry Catterick at Everton; Bill Shankly at Liverpool; Bob Paisley at Liverpool; Ferguson, four times; Arsene Wenger once.

That more exclusive group illustrates how Guardiola faces the more difficult challenge, the next step up from Klopp’s.

The reasons for that are obvious, and also reflect why Liverpool currently look in better shape.

The champions' issues so far have mostly come from injuries and a relatively superficial raggedness. It was always going to be impossible to sustain the levels of 2018-20, but the base quality remains so high - especially in attack.

Guardiola isn’t trying to sustain. He’s attempting to rebuild. It’s a very different challenge, that brings in the motivation of the manager as much as the players. That is exacerbated by the fact this is the first time Guardiola has stayed at a club beyond four years. Hanging over this is the uncertainty surrounding the Catalan’s new contract. This situation warrants as much hunger from the manager as the players.

We’re thereby into unknown territory, which is also why this very meeting feels much more unpredictable than at any point in the last few years.

Many of its key players have gone, although they are pretty much all from the City side. This is why that first Guardiola team is probably finished in its best form, even if some totemic figures remain. Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Ederson and Kyle Walker almost have to be the Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville figures for him, setting the standards for the budding stars coming in.

The reference such United players offer reflects why Ferguson remains the ultimate example in all this.

Guardiola will doubtless encounter some of the challenges and issues the great Scot found during his transition periods.

“When there is a sudden rush to solve problems, mistakes are made,” Ferguson wrote in his second autobiography, particularly referencing 2003 to 2006. “We were at our best when we worked from a plan, over years… That wasn’t a great period for us in terms of trophies. Yet when you’re managing change, you have to accept quieter spells and acknowledge that transformations take longer than a year.”

This might be a challenge for Guardiola, and perhaps one he succeeds in. Sunday will start to tell. It just won’t tell us who wins the title. This meeting of the most recent champions won’t declare the next.

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