"We will unleash the supporters yet again on our opponents": Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers. Credit:Getty Images "We will unleash the supporters yet again on our opponents. Anfield is a very, very difficult place for people to come and play now. I have felt the power of the support here. I remember the game against Chelsea [in the Champions League in 2005]. I was a youth coach at Chelsea at the time but I went to the game and the players and the manager himself said that the supporters won the game. That's the beauty of Anfield. The support is so tight to the action, they really will the team on. It's an iconic ground and for us it's so important in our destiny in the next five games. "It was interesting hearing some of Kenny Dalglish's comments, saying Liverpool looks like it's back to the old Liverpool. That was great from someone of that iconic status who knows the club better than anyone. "I've seen and heard a lot in the last number of months about the direction the club is going, from people on the outside looking in. There's still a long way to go. This club dominated British football for many years but it's nice that people who have been around the club and the city for a long time should say that. We are hugely privileged but we've got to keep on working because we haven't achieved anything yet. I sense a real nostalgia about the place. It will help drive us forward, not hold us back. It has been a long time since the league title was on Merseyside." This alignment of past and present has been a theme of Rodgers's reign. He has studied, comprehended and embraced every detail of the most celebrated and traumatic moments in the club's history and sought inspiration where many of his predecessors found intimidation and irrelevance. This fusion of eras will never be more pertinent than tomorrow.

Vincent Kompany and Manchester City head to Anfield knowing a draw would shift the balance back their way. Credit:AFP Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini - once considered for the manager's job at Anfield - will lead his side into an arena in a state of near hysteria as it considers the title possibilities, but also spurred by the poignant timing of such a consequential game. For this fixture in particular to take place on this weekend - marking the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster - is too persuasive for those who believe in fate to ignore. Rodgers says the remembrance will stir his players. "I think they'll feed off it," he said. "We'll pay our commemoration before the game and the emotion will come in the memorial service next Tuesday, that's going to be where the raw emotion comes out. For us, our job is to provide a lift to the supporters, families and victims in terms of our performance. We embrace that and it's not something that's going to sabotage our work. It's going to help us grow and help us accept our responsibility. We know what that is and hopefully we can use that to good effect. "We carry it every day of our lives here: manager, players, supporters. The victims and the families are with us every day and that is why we work hard to ensure they can have some comfort from seeing their club move forward. This weekend will be huge for that." While the romantics have favoured Liverpool all season, City head to Anfield knowing a draw would shift the balance back their way. It is a meeting of the multi-millionaires against the mega-billionaires rather than serfs versus Sheikhs as some would have it, but if there was any pointed remark from Rodgers towards the opponent, it was his reference to the different 'models'. The contrast was made between a spending club and a 'developing' one.

"I won't disrespect what [City] have done because they had a lot of new money come into the club in order to gain success. They have invested that money wisely in a lot of top players and that has won them the league, the FA Cup and the League Cup." MEMORABLE ANFIELD ATMOSPHERES THROUGH THE DECADE Liverpool 3 St Etienne 1 European Cup quarter-final, March 16, 1977 A goal down from the 1st leg and having conceded an away goal, this was one of the great European comebacks, completed by David Fairclough six minutes from time. Phil Neal recalled: "I couldn't help but look up in amazement as the crowd. The whole stadium seemed to be moving, even the people in the stands."

Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 Champions League semi-final, May 3, 2005 When Jose Mourinho suggested the crowd scored the winning goal by Luis Garcia, The Kop said 'yes, and your point was?' Steve Heighway, who played against St Etienne in 1977, said the noise level this night eclipsed anything he'd experienced at Anfield. It is anticipated City will experience similar on Sunday. Liverpool 2 Inter Milan 1 European Cup semi-final, May 4, 1965

Three days after Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time in their history, the Italian champions came to town. Bill Shankly increased decibel level by having the trophy paraded before kick-off. "Dear God, what an eruption there was when our supporters caught sight of that cup," said Shankly. "The noise was unbelievable. The people were hysterical." Liverpool 3 Auxerre 0 UEFA Cup 2nd Round, November 6, 1991 The start of an inauspicious period in Liverpool's history, but the Anfield magic never really faded. Two nil down to the French after the first leg, the 23,000 spectators sounded more like 50,000. Liverpool won 3-0, Mark Walters enjoying his finest moment in a red a shirt.

Liverpool 0 Arsenal 2, 1989 Title decider, May 26, 1989 Loading A reminder not all the great Anfield occasions were victorious for the hosts. In a game rearranged due to Liverpool's fixture backlog post-Hillsborough, Arsenal snatched the league title in the 91st minute. The Kop remained full for the trophy presentation and there was generous applause for George Graham's side. The Daily Telegraph