He will know what is coming his way from the visitors’ seats at the Etihad Stadium.
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Pellegrini’s title challenge has not unduly faltered in the absence of his star striker, with City still top of the table.
However, Klopp believes spending big does not guarantee success.
Aguero, last season’s top Premier League goalscorer, has missed the club’s last seven matches in all competitions, but they have remained unbeaten in that time. This game provides an excellent opportunity to recover from defeat, although it must be said that a draw would be good result for any side visiting the Etihad. He is younger, more aggressive and has adapted to his coach’s gegenpressing style very quickly.
After Saturday, one third of the domestic league season will have passed.
There was good news for Manchester City ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Liverpool FC, with Argentina superstar Sergio Agüero expected to return to the starting line-up, but captain Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of the fixture along with Spain global David Silva.
Honestly, Liverpool have to control the game from the onset to have any chance of winning the game, Toure, Fernandinho, Fernando will harry and push for control which Liverpool must deny them.
Sterling will play, though.
If Aguero is almost fit, the best way to go around it is to start him.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager said: “The best explanation is what I told the players in our first meeting – I am their friend, but not their best friend”. “David continues with a few small sprain in his ankle so I think it’s a risk for him to play”.
Liverpool recorded a first victory under Klopp over a struggling Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge.
For the German, however, the subject lacks relevance.
But Pellegrini admits that the two players’ circumstances can not be compared. ‘It doesn’t work. You must take the money and do something smart with it. I don’t know how many friends Raheem had here or has here.
“If you don’t see them too often you only see the good things. The important thing is for all of us to try to refuse what happened and honour the victims”.
“When new managers come in, all the players want to give 100 per cent and fight for everything possible”. We don’t have to talk about the past and not about Sterling.
“Sterling is a brilliant player, everybody knows this”. Now he’s at Manchester City.
‘Now we close the book’. If his team lost with the two sitting on the bench, people will ask why he didn’t start them.
Sterling is merely the latest on an illustrious list that stretches through Owen, Torres, Mascherano, and Suarez, though his tender age, his choice of clubs, and his apparent disdain for the supporters made his departure even more of a betrayal. Klopp did a great job at Dortmund and that secured his spot in the Premier League.
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Goals are still a major problem for Liverpool, and once again, none of the club’s midfielders are scoring/creating on a regular basis. Questions have been asked of his finishing ability but the youngster has started to answer them with a hat-trick against Bournemouth last month and a vital Champions League strike at Sevilla. But if we need, we will do [transfers].
