Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City must beat Liverpool on Thursday to sustain their Premier League title bid. That south coast victory set up a pivotal title battle with Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, with second-placed City trailing the league leaders by seven points. “With the position of Liverpool, if we drop points then it is over, it is finished; it would be almost impossible,” said Guardiola. “We are not here to send a message, Liverpool know what they have to do, we know what we have to do on Thursday,” said Guardiola. “In the winter break everyone loses games, except for Liverpool in this period, but everyone drops points, that’s normal.

Source: The Irish Times December 30, 2018 19:07 UTC