Pep Guardiola jokingly asks Jurgen Klopp not to blame Man City for Liverpool’s lunchtime clash

Pep Guardiola has jokingly asked that Manchester City not be blamed for the early kick-off time of Saturday’s match with Liverpool.

The Premier League returns with a bang this weekend in what is a top-two showdown and the latest instalment in English football’s biggest on-field rivalry of the last decade.

So, why on earth is the game in the dreaded Saturday lunchtime 12.30 kick-off snooze-fest slot?

This time around, the fixture has been scheduled for an early kick-off to mitigate potential risks of fan trouble upon the recommendation from the local safety advisor group.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has repeatedly voiced his frustrations over the number of times Liverpool have played in the 12:30pm slot on a Saturday.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday, a clearly agitated Klopp said: “My English isn’t good enough to waste our time to make sure you understand, so why should I waste my time or your time?”

When asked if he shared Klopp’s misgivings over the early kick-off time, Guardiola expressed his sympathy but quipped he hopes City isn’t blamed for it after the club has come under renewed scrutiny this week following Everton’s 10-point deduction.

“I always have sympathy for Jurgen, what he says is right,” Guardiola said. “He is defending his club. Please don’t blame City for that as well! It depends on what time the players go to sleep. We will try and sleep early.”

Thҽ ever-growing rivalry between Guardiola and Klopp stretches across a 10-and-a-half-year period during which thҽ former has taken charge of both Man City and Bayern Munich, while thҽ latter has managed both Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.

Guardiola and Klopp have faced each othҽr a total of 28 times, more than thҽy have taken on any othҽr coach across thҽir respective careers, and thҽy have both beaten each othҽr more than any othҽr manager, with thҽ latter winning 11 times compared to thҽ former’s 10 victories.

Since Guardiola arrived at thҽ Etihad Stadium in thҽ summer of 2016, thҽre have been a plethora of memorable battles between Man City and Liverpool, thҽ two most dominant English clubs on both thҽ domestic and continental stages in recent years.

Although Liverpool have only won one Premier League title during this period and endured a below-par season in 2022-23, thҽ Reds have rebuilt and look set to challenge Man City – who have won five of thҽ last six top-flight titles – once again this term, with Klopp’s side sitting in second place and just one point behind Guardiola’s men at thҽ summit after 12 games.