Pep Guardiola has dismissed Jurgen Klopp's claim that Liverpool are not in this season's title race as Manchester City prepare to go to Anfield on Sunday.
City are 13 points clear of Liverpool going into the contest, albeit having played one game more. Victory on Sunday would extend that gap to 16 points after just 10 games, while defeat and a Liverpool win in their game in hand in midweek could close the gap to seven to City.
Klopp has twice this week insisted that Liverpool are not title contenders this season after their stuttering start, however Guardiola clearly had a different opinion as he rated Liverpool's start to the season.
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"Always they have been [title challengers] and always will be," Guardiola said, confirming he sees Klopp's side as City's biggest title challengers.
"I know the quality they have, the character, if 10 games left maybe I would say they cannot catch us, but being in that position, anything can happen.
"You have to behave at top, top level, especially off the ball, for second balls many many things. At Anfield, winning or losing we always play with big personality. It's one of the biggest ones [stadiums], nicest ones, it's a joy to be there and be a part of the game. It's a football game, Liverpool is important, it is the quality they have."
Guardiola also addressed City's last two meetings with Liverpool following two 2-2 draws in the Premier League as City were beaten in the FA Cups semi-final at Wembley and again in the Community Shield at the start of the season, pointing to how close they came to a historic quadruple last season.
He said: "This is our biggest achievement as a team [consistently fighting at the top] but everything can change immediately, two months ago, three months ago, Liverpool was fighting for an unprecedented situation in English football, fighting for four titles. They won two, lost one by one point, and in the final, they had more shots on target, more chances, more everything than the opponent and they lost.
"For just two little details they could not achieve something that no English team had done. This the same thing with the same manager but those moments happen. We will have them, we try to avoid having bad moments but we will have them, and its part of the nature of the competition. I pay zero attention about good moments or bad moments. I analyse how the team is and I'm always expecting the best of them.
"This is what you have to approach. It's not necessary to tell the players, they know, because in the last years we fought for multiple competitions and all the titles and came close, really close, and we were a little bit better, especially in the Premier League, but nothing changed opinion I can have about them.
"When they push you, you have to push. When they are there, you have to be there. The semi-finals of the FA Cup, it was a tough to recover the incredible effort we had done in Champions League. In the Community Shield, still we were not ready. They were in one pace higher than us and without that, against that team, you cannot compete. I don't have any complaints about the players in recent weeks. I mean the last time two times we played against them."
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