Premier League 2018-19, Liverpool vs Manchester City: 3 things to watch out for

#2 Will Pep Guardiola show any kind of pragmatism in his approach?

Van Dijk and Wijnaldum implementing Jurgen Klopp's style of play

Pep Guardiola's sides are synonymous for their free-flowing and adventurous style of play, with the Spaniard encouraging each one of his players to be comfortable on the ball and display a wide passing range. This method plays right into the hands of Jurgen Klopp's infamous gegenpressing style, where his players swarm their opponents in advanced areas of the pitch so they can get on the attack early and pressurise the opposition. The former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager has had no response for his German rival's energetic style but could seek inspiration from a rival manager in the form of Maurizio Sarri who neutralised Liverpool's attacking threat.

Sarri adopted a more defensive approach and essentially asked Liverpool to manufacture chances from scratch, with the Italian's side picking up a deserved point against the Reds. Pep, however, is unlikely to fundamentally change his method of playing but could do with a more restrained approach to prevent Liverpool from winning the ball early and exposing the questionable defence.