Jurgen Klopp Comments on Pep Guardiola Attending Liverpool vs. Stoke City

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp risked the ire of Manchester City ahead of the two sides' clash on Saturday by suggesting the reason Pep Guardiola watched the Reds beat Stoke City on Tuesday at Anfield was "to watch good football." 

The Citizens manager was in attendance as Liverpool went 1-0 down to the Potters early on before eventually winning 4-1 to move six points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and one point ahead of City.

The encounter between Liverpool and City on Merseyside on New Year's Eve could be crucial in determining whether either can maintain a genuine title challenge through to the end of the season.

Klopp said ahead of the clash he has a lot of respect for City but revealed that, unlike Guardiola, he has eschewed a personal scouting mission of the Manchester outfit, per Neil Jones in the Liverpool Echo:

"

Pep Guardiola was here tonight. Michael Edwards, the sporting director, messaged me to say that. I'm not sure he watched a lot of games in other stadiums the last few weeks, eh? That's the first sign that it is a special game.

We are already looking forward. It's a difficult game for both teams, but an exciting one. The best news for us is that it's at Anfield.

What can I say, I'm really looking forward to it. They're an outstanding side, we are not too bad. It'll be a nice game.

[...] I respect them a lot, but I have not been to City's stadium this season or last to watch games. Maybe they want to watch good football, maybe Pep saw nothing tonight?

"

Chelsea's 12-game winning run has left the other Premier League challengers struggling to keep up, and any dropped points for either Liverpool or City on Saturday could prove a hammer blow to their title hopes.

Klopp highlighted the importance of home advantage for his side. City have not won at Anfield since 2003, and the last time they took even a point away against Liverpool was in 2012.

Recent history is in Liverpool's favour, while both sides are in similar form having won each of their last three matches. 

It is set to be one of the clashes of the season, with Liverpool being the most prolific Premier League side so far in 2016-17 and City joint-second top goalscorers with Arsenal.

Given the crucial nature of the match, and the quality on both sides, it is likely to be a tight affair, but Klopp seems confident his Liverpool side can cause Guardiola's City plenty of problems.