Ilkay Gundogan has suggested that Liverpool are at an advantage in chasing just two titles – the Premier League and the Champions League – compared to Manchester City’s pursuit of four.
Liverpool were knocked out of the League Cup in September by Chelsea before losing to Wolves in the third round of the FA Cup last month.
Manchester City, meanwhile, remain stretched across all four competitions as they chase an historic quadruple.
And Gundogan, speaking in the wake of City’s 3-1 win over Arsenal, suggested Liverpool’s lighter load may well benefit them in the coming weeks.
When addressing the differences between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, having played under the latter during his early Dortmund days, Gundogan said: “They are different in terms of playing style and their characters, but both of them are great people, great human beings that I really like.
“Klopp didn’t win as much as Pep won – that’s why it was quite surprising when he was able to win two titles in a row with Dortmund in Germany. I just joined them for the second one.
“When you have to run in the season you don’t think about much things. You go out and play. When you have no concerns in your mind you are able to win a lot of times. That’s how I felt when we were able to win at Dortmund that title.
“We had an advantage of just playing Saturday, Saturday, Saturday and the week off in between. He [Klopp] is in a similar situation now with Liverpool – just the Premier League and then the Champions League on top.
“Maybe it’s going to be an advantage for them, I don’t know. It’s nothing we can change right now. They have to play their games and we have to play ours.”
