Liverpool and Manchester City have had some titanic clashes during the respective tenures of Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. Whether domestically or in Europe, they have repeatedly met with the very biggest prizes on the line, and the games have rarely disappointed.
Many still hail Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in the 2018/19 season as the highest-quality Premier League match ever played. Two teams at their peak were going toe-to-toe, in a contest and indeed a title race that was ultimately decided by a matter of millimeters.
Those of a Liverpool persuasion will look back on the Champions League meetings in 2018 with greater fondness. A 3-0 win at Anfield put Klopp’s side on its way, before a 2-1 win at the Etihad sealed the deal, dumping Guardiola out of Europe and paving a path that would lead the Reds to the final.
Guardiola has of course claimed more silverware than his adversary, finally adding the Champions League to the collection last season. However, as Trent Alexander-Arnold recently explained, the wins may well ‘mean more’ to Liverpool, given the financial disparities at play. If nothing else, Klopp is certainly responsible for saving the Premier League from a period of unparalleled dominance.
Against this backdrop, the final battle between Klopp and Guardiola takes on even more significance. Given the title race implications, nothing else was needed to fuel the narrative, but it’s hard to overstate the enormity of the latest Liverpool vs Manchester City showdown.
But it could be that these teams meet once more this season after the weekend’s encounter. The last battle between Klopp and Guardiola could yet take place at Wembley.
Liverpool and Manchester City are two of the eight teams left in the FA Cup. Guardiola needs to navigate a home tie against Newcastle, while Klopp will be relishing a trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.
Assuming both sides win, the draw will dictate whether a potential Wembley meeting comes at the semi-final or final stage. If they were to meet in the final, though, the end of the season would look extremely eventful for Liverpool and Klopp.
On May 19, Klopp plays his final Premier League game, taking on Wolves. There’s a non-zero chance the destination of the trophy could be on the line.
Unlike the Champions League, the Europa League final is still played midweek. Wednesday May 22 could see Klopp attempting to win the third of a possible four trophies — perhaps even against Xabi Alonso and his Bayer Leverkusen team.
The FA Cup final then takes plays on May 25. Rarely has a team had a higher-stakes seven days, the difference between one trophy and four — and for it to end in a final Klopp vs Guardiola bout would be quite the spectacle.
The pair could also feasibly meet on the international stage, with both touted to take national team jobs at some point in their careers. Klopp has long been coveted by Germany.
Yet the last time the duo face off this season will nonetheless be the end of an era, one that Liverpool and Manchester City have defined. Whether it comes at the weekend or at Wembley, it will be a massive occasion.