Man City vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League result and final score after Riyad Mahrez wastes huge late chance

As excitement builds around the Premier League, there are different emotions at Anfield and Eastlands. This, in the words of one prominent source, “is why they despise each other”. The build-up to Sunday’s title showdown has already been amplified by a lot of noise.

On the Liverpool side, there has been ridiculous debate about the appointment of referee Anthony Taylor. On the Manchester City side, there have been complaints about “the timing” of another damaging Der Spiegel story. “Must be a big game coming up,” has been one common quip, as if serious German newspapers are Liverpool supporters.

The reality is absolutely none of this affects the players. Figures like Kevin De Bruyne and Jordan Henderson don’t allow that. Neither do the managers. The players are too focused.

Everything is geared towards this. That doesn’t just apply to the squads, though.

There are not many referees better than Anthony Taylor. The 43-year-old is experienced, decisive and mobile enough to keep up with play. He is one of the two English candidates put forward to officiate at the World Cup in Qatar.

Taylor is just the sort of person you would want holding the whistle for the biggest game of the season. Except that a section of the Liverpool fanbase have been in uproar this week because he has been given their team’s game against Manchester City at the Etihad tomorrow. This is simply because Taylor is from Manchester.

The angst of Liverpool supporters was further inflamed by the appointment of Paul Tierney as the VAR official. Tierney is from Salford, 2.5 miles from Manchester. The conspiracy theories started five days before kick-off.

Riyad Mahrez is aiming to become the third City player to score in six consecutive Premier League home games, after Uwe Rosler in 1994 and Alvaro Negredo in 201 but he’ll have to do so off the bench today.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits there are few weaknesses in the Liverpool side for his team to exploit.

The champions host the Reds on Sunday having seen their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to a single point by Jurgen Klopp’s in-form outfit.

City – albeit having played more games – led by 14 points at one stage but Liverpool, on a 10-game winning run, have been relentless in their pursuit and Guardiola is well aware of their strengths.

Guardiola said: “In the times we’ve played against them (there) are always many games during the game, many decisions, many actions, many details for both sides.

“I think both teams are good but we try to discover the weak points that they have. They are few but we try to expose them.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes nothing in world football can prepare you for facing Manchester City but he feels the excellence of their Premier League rivals has helped his side become title contenders again.

Sunday sees the top two sides face off at the Etihad Stadium where a win would take Klopp’s team two points clear with seven matches to play.

The pair have been involved in some epic battles in recent seasons – in particular in 2018-19 when City pipped Liverpool to the title by a point despite a record points haul for the runners’ up.

While Klopp is not exactly overjoyed at the standards Pep Guardiola’s side have set he acknowledges it has made his players better, which contributed to them winning their first title for 30 years in 2019-20 with a 19-point advantage over City.

“I wouldn’t say I’m thankful that City is that good but it didn’t deny our development,” said the Reds boss. “The last four years since we stepped up a little bit and could close the gap to City is interesting.

The Premier League’s top two clubs have scored 147 goals between them in the competition this season, with Liverpool scoring 77 of those - seven more than City.

Liverpool have not conceded a first-half goal in any of their last 19 matches in all competitions and their substitutes have scored eight Premier League goals this season, a total exceeded only by Manchester United (10 goals).

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he would have been disappointed had his side not produced a response to Manchester City’s 14-point advantage at the top of the table.

A title challenge looked an unlikely possibility in January when Klopp’s side were so far adrift, even with two matches in hand.

A run of 10 successive Premier League victories has set up an enticing Sunday showdown at the Etihad Stadium when Liverpool could go two points ahead with a win.

But because of the high standards Klopp has set his team – standards they almost always deliver – the Reds boss considered their achievement in getting back in touch with their main rivals as nothing out of the ordinary for them.

“The 100 percent truth is that what we did was normal. If we hadn’t tried I would be disappointed,” he said.

Jurgen Klopp did not believe he could elevate his side to the level Manchester City were at when he arrived in the Premier League but the last four years have proved him wrong.

The Premier League’s top two teams go head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium with just one point separating them heading into the last eight matches of the season.

But a deeper dive into the statistics show that one-point gap also applies to their rivalry since the start of the 2018-19 season, when Liverpool finished runners-up – again by a single point – with a record 97-point tally for second place.

Over 144 matches City have won 108, drawn 14 and lost 22, accruing 338 points. Liverpool have won 104, drawn 25 and lost just 15 times, making their total 337.

“It’s great. I’m surprised about the numbers, to be honest. It’s massive,” said Klopp.

Victory for Liverpool will see them finish the day top of the Premier League table for the first time since 1st October.

The Reds have won each of their last 10 league games, keeping eight clean sheets in the process. They are on a club record run of eight consecutive away wins in all competitions.