Man City to face hostile reception at Anfield in Premier League match on Sunday
Manchester City will travel to Anfield for a Premier League match on Sunday, where a hostile reception is expected amid continued fallout from an independent commission ruling. The commission found the club guilty of the majority of the 115 financial charges brought by the Premier League, and City manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday the club's titles are "absolutely not" tainted.
Pep Guardiola's six Premier League titles with Manchester City and a December 2024 episode in which Liverpool fans chanted "you're getting sacked in the morning" at Guardiola — prompting him to lift six fingers in response — form part of the backdrop to the fixture. City have won five out of five in the Premier League this season, and Sunday will be the first meeting between Liverpool and City since 2015 without either Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola in the dugout; Liverpool chairman Tom Werner will be in attendance.
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola described the game as "an exciting game" and said: "We are playing at home at Anfield against City that is top of the league, they have won all of their games. "We will go for the game, they will go for it and it will be quite an open game and we have to be ready. I hope we will be at the level of the game, which will be high." Iraola added: "Yes, we are here to play this game. We know it's going to be challenging. They are very good but we also are very good."
John Achterberg, who was Liverpool's goalkeeping coach under Brendan Rodgers and Klopp, told The Athletic: "You think about the memories and the successes that you were wrongly denied," adding, "We won one Premier League title [in 2019-20], but it could have been four given that we missed out to City three times by such narrow margins."
The two clubs' rivalry since City's 2008 takeover by Abu Dhabi has included notable on-field and off-field incidents: in 2018 Liverpool were fined 20,000 euros (£17,500) by Uefa after supporters threw missiles at the City team bus before the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Anfield, and Liverpool responded in that tie by scoring three goals in 19 first-half minutes to eliminate City. Earlier that season, a January league match finished 4-3 to Liverpool at Anfield.
Pep Guardiola's 2019 description of Anfield was quoted in the build-up: "There's something about it that you will find in no other stadium in the world. They score a goal and over the next five minutes you feel that you'll receive another four. You feel small and the rival players seem to be all over." Merseyside Police said an appropriate policing plan will be in place for Sunday but declined to give specifics when asked by BBC Sport.
There is a growing expectation of a bus welcome on Anfield Road, with social media advertising a "Bus Greeting," though it remains unclear whether an alternative bus route could be used as has happened previously; inside the ground Liverpool plan to display a collection of banners and flags and one social media post suggested fans could bring stacks of fake money. Liverpool described preparations as "business as usual," and said discussions with police and safety briefings are regular meetings held before every game.
The Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Manchester City takes place at Anfield on Sunday, with the outcome and any off-field developments likely to attract continued attention given the commission's findings and the clubs' recent form.
