Pep Guardiola says that Manchester City’s 14-point lead over Liverpool was false due to the fact that his team had played more games than the Reds in January and the opportunity for Jurgen Klopp’s men was always there to catch them.

“I’m going to tell you something: 14 points, it was fake. You were wrong. We played two more games [than Liverpool],” said Guardiola

“It was not a mistake. After analyzing the games we dropped points – Crystal Palace, especially Southampton – we were brilliant, more than brilliant. We were not effective, we were not clinical, but we were brilliant.

“Maybe in the final third they [Liverpool] are more ‘wow’, more powerful for the quality of the players, but from what I see there are many things where we are close, we work quite similarly.”

Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders start the day with 73 points just one ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool with just seven games left after this weekend.

Liverpool arrive in Manchester on the back of a 10-match winning run in the top flight, with Man City – who are going for a fourth title in five seasons – having dropped five points in their last five games since winning 4-0 at Norwich on 12th February.

Victory for the Reds would see them finish a day top of the table for the first time since October 1st and put them in the driving seat going into the run in.

Of the last eight Premier League meetings between the top two sides to take place within the final 10 games of the season, the team in second has won seven times, including each of the last five in a row. Advantage Liverpool then?

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s top of the table clash between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.

Premier League champions Man City come into the game with the slightest lead over rivals Liverpool after having a 14-point lead cut to just one by Jurgen Klopp’s men. Liverpool are unbeaten in 11 league games since the turn of the year and have won their last 10 consecutive matches in the top flight.

Manchester City meanwhile have dropped five points from their last five league games following a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham and a goalless draw with Crystal Palace nestled in between victories over Everton, Manchester United and Burnley.

Since the start of the 2018-19 season, when Liverpool finished runners-up to Man City by a single point – with a record 97-point tally for second place – both teams have played 144 matches.

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

They are two of the best teams ever to play in the Premier League and today go head-to-head in what could well be a Premier League title decider.