Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is relishing a reunion with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and 'accepts the challenge' at Anfield in Sunday's top-of-the-table Premier League showdown.
This blockbuster meeting represents the final time that these two managerial masterminds will lock horns in the Premier League, as Klopp has announced that he will be stepping down from his post as Liverpool boss at the end of the season.
With 11 games remaining, Liverpool currently sit at the Premier League summit, just one point ahead of reigning champions Man City, who are bidding to win an unprecedented fourth successive title.
The competitive rivalry between Klopp and Guardiola has stretched across an 11-year period, beginning in Germany with the former managing Borussia Dortmund and the latter taking charge of Bayern Munich.
Klopp and Guardiola will meet for the 30th time in all competitions on Sunday, and the Man City boss is once again looking forward to testing his mettle against a fellow manager he admires greatly.
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Discussing Klopp's decision to leave Liverpool at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola said: "I respect completely his decision. I spoke with him and I had the feeling he will be back sooner or later.
"He is a man who loves football. His passion is there. He explained perfectly the reason why [he is leaving].
"In the Premier League it's the last time, but maybe in the FA Cup, we can find [each other] and we will see. Always it was a pleasure (to face Klopp) and Sunday will be too, but we will try to win the game."
Asked about the difficulties of playing at Anfield and whether the atmosphere will reach new heights now that Klopp is leaving this summer, Guardiola said: "I don't know, we will see on Sunday.
"The way his teams play football, always you learn. The way they play, the teams play. It will be nice because always it has been, and I accept the challenge.
Guardiola has suggested that Liverpool have slightly changed their style from last season, adding: "We have already seen some details about the way they attack [which] is different to previous seasons.
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"The quality of some players makes the game different. The main parts are the same and we know it quite well, but the little details we need to adjust.
"At the same time, knowing that, we must look at the games we and they have played recently and see if we need to adjust something to be more comfortable with the players that we have to play on Sunday."
The Citizens boss has affirmed that his team selection will depend on which players are available, with Jeremy Doku (muscle) and Matheus Nunes (finger) both to be assessed, while Jack Grealish remains sidelined with a groin injury.
"If we do something different, I am a genius and if we lose, I am an overthinking person," said Guardiola. "My process is 'which players do we have?' – will Doku be ready? We will know tomorrow and then we know what we can do.
"The impact will be the same. The difference sometimes is the quality of the players - the little details... But the main pattern is the same. Make the game quick, contact with runners. It's quite similar to when I met him in Dortmund when I was at Bayern."
Klopp, meanwhile, has branded Guardiola as "the outstanding manager" of his lifetime, although he has played down the rivalry that has developed between them ahead of Sunday's meeting.
Oliver Thomas
