Kyle Walker has sent a warning to Liverpool ahead of Sunday's Premier League showdown with Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp's men take on Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium (4.30pm) in a hotly anticipated clash.
They were once again the top two sides last season, though Liverpool ultimately finished 18 points clear of their closest challengers as they ended their 30-year wait for a league title, having been pipped the previous year.
It has been a strange start to the 2020-21 campaign - largely due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Liverpool are joint top of the table - with Southampton - but their seven league fixtures to date included a 7-2 thrashing by Aston Villa.
City are five points behind in 12th place, with a game in hand, but seem to have picked up some momentum since their 5-2 home humbling at the hands of Leicester City.
That is certainly Walker's opinion and the England defender insists Guardiola's men "mean business".
"Liverpool are the team that own the Premier League title," Walker told the Daily Mail.
"They are the team that have got the red ribbons on it and they wear the gold lion on the sleeve. They rightfully have that.
"We were the first team to retain the title for a decade and we know that it's hard, once you've won it, to go again. But they seem up for the challenge.
"Liverpool were deserved winners last year. Watching them, you just knew they were going to win every game.
"It was just a question of how many and who was going to score, which was frustrating when you were trying to catch them, I can assure you of that.
"You have to take your hat off and give credit where it is due.
"Liverpool are a fantastic team with good players in good areas but do I feel they're unbeatable? No. We proved that last season when they came to the Etihad after the lockdown and we played them off the park, I believe.
"It's going to be a massive game on Sunday. It's bragging rights, to send a marker out there to the other teams: we are here now and we mean business."
