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Man City boss Pep Guardiola tipped to spring surprise vs Liverpool by Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher has tipped Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to spring a surprise on Liverpool at Anfield.
Liverpool host Manchester City on Sunday with the chance of going nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table, but Jamie Carragher has warned his former team over Pep Guardiola.
The ex-England defender has tipped the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona boss to change his tactics in order to get an advantage over the league leaders, but he doesn’t know how the Catalan will do so.
Carragher was asked by his colleague Gary Neville whether Guardiola could change up his formation or personnel in an attempt to shock the home side, and he expects there to be a surprise.
After being asked whether City could utilise a three-man defence, Carragher told Sky Sports: “Guardiola hasn’t played three at the back for a long time.
“He did it recently in the second-leg of a Champions League game but he did that to get more attacking players on the pitch rather than being more defensive.
“He certainly changed his system when they went to Anfield last season and was more conservative.
“He didn’t want his fullbacks flying forward that day and in some ways they should’ve gone on to win the game.
“We’ve seen in his interviews that he spoke about playing certain ways and how you have to adapt for certain games like going to Anfield.
“I think there will be something different, we don’t know what.
"That is why he is such a special coach, you can never read him.
“I do think that Ederson being out is a massive blow and that’s one where you can’t do something different tactically.”
Ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, Reds skipper Jordan Henderson has spoken about the rivalry between the two sides, and outlined why he admires his opponents.
“If I was to pick just one word to sum up how we as a squad feel about Manchester City, it would simply be: ‘respect’,” he wrote in the club’s matchday programme.
“Of course they are an opponent we’ve had decent tussles with over the past couple of seasons in particular, both domestically and in Europe, but as a team here we have nothing but admiration for them.
“What they’ve achieved as a team is something that everyone in sport, let alone just football, can look at and appreciate. They are relentless winners who have found the hunger to go again and again.”