Anfield can be one of the most menacing away environments in the Premier League for any team to come to, but this weekend the roof may blow off the stadium as Manchester City come to town. With City having been found to have breached Premier League financial rules by an independent commission, everyone around the league has weighed in with opinions about what should happen. City are appealing the decision.
The breaches cover 2009-10 to 2017-18, a span in which Liverpool finished as Premier League runners-up in 2013-14. That season, Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool were only two points behind Manuel Pellegrini's City, with both teams scoring a whopping 100-plus goals in league play. Anfield never forgets, and the atmosphere could echo 2018, when Liverpool faced Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Not only was the stadium a wall of red, but so was the approach to it, which Guardiola admitted had an impact on his players. Even if this were a normal match, an undefeated City side would face a hostile atmosphere with Liverpool looking to get back into the top four. Date: Sunday, Oct. 11 | Time: 11:30 a.m.
ETLocation: Anfield -- Liverpool, EnglandTV: NBC | Live stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)Odds: Liverpool +170; Draw +260; Manchester City +145 Anfield also hasn't seen Premier League soccer in almost a month due to scheduling and a lengthy three-week combined international break. The last home game was a drab draw with Fulham, far enough in the past that fans are ready to see the Reds again, and more than ready to respond to the City decision. Immense pressure is on Enzo Maresca and the City squad coming into the match to show that the off-field issues are kept there, and the City boss has already called on his away support in a club interview.
"We need to be all together. I said many times the reason why this organisation in the last 15 years was top was because from the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the manager, players, fans, they are all on the same page. And this is fantastic," Maresca said.
He added that his squad will be ready, but that he needs the fans as well while reiterating that he's calm about the off-field issues. It's one thing to say that, but it's another to back it up while in a hostile atmosphere. Social media has been rife with people's thoughts about City, and while players can ignore that, they won't be able to ignore the fans cheering and jeering from the Kop for 90-plus minutes.
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