Despite his intuitive feel for intricate tactical approaches, a capacity to thrive under pressure and a love of close competition, Pep Guardiola should never try his hand at poker.
The faces, the mannerisms, the hand gestures. They all give far too much away.
When tension is bubbling close to the surface with Guardiola, it's easy to spot. Perhaps it manifests in a prickly remark to the media or him howling “TWIIIIIICE” into the Merseyside air.
This is why, as the nerve-shredding hours before kick-off at Anfield tick by on Sunday, Manchester City fans should take comfort in their manager’s professed state of happiness.
"The level of consistency and the way we played is so good,” he told a Friday news conference when reviewing his team’s recent form, including last weekend’s authoritative 1-0 win at Chelsea and the unlucky 2-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain last time out.
“That's why I'm happier than ever because I know how difficult it is.”
It’s quite a statement when you consider Guardiola has guided City to the unprecedented feats of a 100 points season in 2017/18 and a domestic treble the following season, winning three league titles and eight major honours overall in Manchester.
But this was not Pep with Kevin and Perry teenage sarcasm turned up to 11 (“so, so happy - more than you believe”), it was a genuine picture of contentment and a man satisfied that the all-important “process” is being followed more closely than ever before.
“It's not to compare to what we have done in the past,” he continued. “Always it will remain in our hearts, what we have done.
“You have to try and do it again and know exactly where the team comes from. What we have done last season, it is almost impossible to do it better. It is so difficult.
“Still we have many details where still we are there [at the top of our game], after six years together. That's why I'm so proud of my players. Always I say to them, I do not have words to express the sense of gratitude for the way we played these two games.
“Just continue to do it. This is the target.”
Between 2018 and 2020, there was a sense that the titanic battles between Guardiola’s City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool were a violently whirring vortex that consumed everything around them.
It felt like any sense of calm planning went out of the window (or through the window of the team bus) as events escalated irresistibly on the field.
Liverpool’s 2018 Anfield wins in the Premier League and the Champions League marked them out as the only side domestically who could hang with Guardiola’s record-breakers, with a 3-1 win on home turf in November 2019 showing they were ready to take the Blues’ crown.
Around that time, it felt as if Klopp might have his rival’s number. However, as Thomas Tuchel’s experience at Stamford Bridge showed, it is foolish to believe such permanence can be applied to jousts with the ever-evolving, ever-scheming Guardiola.
Quietly, through a couple of low-key draws, a Community Shield victory on penalties and a pair of emphatic wins behind closed doors, City and Guardiola have lost only one of their past seven meetings with Klopp’s Liverpool - the aforementioned 2019/20 reverse.
The City boss is quick to bridle when he thinks he is being denied due credit - note the heavily mocking references to him being a “failure” whenever his Champions League record is brought up or the time he sensationally referred to himself as “Fraudiola” after a shock defeat at Norwich - but he broke into a big grin when the factor of City hammering Liverpool 4-1 in January without the famous Anfield crowd being in attendance was brought up.
“Thank you so much to pull out the credit of our victory at Anfield last season," he joked. "I was so happy and you destroy my happiness right now because you do not give credit for what we have done last season. I will never forgive you!”
Guardiola continued by saying he was pleased to see fans back at Anfield, having already commended Klopp for making him a better manager. Just add it all to the burgeoning happiness list.
He also remarked that he tends not to consider the league table until 10 or 12 games are gone, so perhaps the normally high stakes when City travel to Anfield have been tempered accordingly.
A rivalry that once appeared to put Guardiola on edge is one where he now feels in control and able to approach a mouthwatering contest with grinning anticipation and measured excitement.
Or perhaps the nerves are churning him up and he’s a better poker player than any of us thought?
Do you think Guardiola will triumph over Klopp once again this Sunday? Follow the City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
