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Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will be ready to handle a Manchester City backlash at the Etihad as he declared: “We're a different team now.”

The Premier League leaders will kick off 2019 by putting their 20-game unbeaten run on the line against the champions on Thursday night.

It's a mouthwatering clash with Liverpool seven points better off than City after a scintillating run of nine straight league wins.

Pep Guardiola adopted a cautious approach in October's goalless draw between the clubs at Anfield but this time around City will have to take more risks in a bid to close the gap at the summit.

It's a similar scenario to April's Champions League quarter-final second leg when Liverpool travelled to the Etihad with a 3-0 lead and had to deal with a first-half bombardment before picking City off on the counter and sealing victory in the second half.

(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

“In the first 25 minutes that night it didn't feel too good,” Klopp said.

“They were under pressure in that game and they showed they are ready to sort that problem.

“We were a bit lucky, we know that, because they scored a second goal that the referee disallowed. Then we started controlling things a bit more.

“A key moment after not conceding the second was when we had a chance just before half-time. That is how we went into the dressing room thinking ‘okay’.

“That could be the situation again, but on the other side we are a different team as well. I don't want it to sound like a threat because it's not, it is just the situation.

“We have improved since last year, as we had to, but still this is the most difficult game to play because of their quality, the variations they are able to do and the different formations they can play. That makes it really special in the preparation.”

Klopp had told his players to prepare for “a thunderstorm” prior to that European showdown at the Etihad and he's expecting City to fly out of the traps on home turf once again.

Liverpool currently boast the best defensive record at this stage of a season in their history with just eight goals conceded but this will be their toughest test to date.

Despite City losing three of their past five matches, Klopp is adamant that they are an even stronger force than last season.

“It was a thunderstorm that night. They said before the game they could do it from 3-0 down, and everyone knew they could,” Klopp said.

(Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“I don’t respond in a geographic way this time, but it will be a very intense game.

“It's unbelievable how obvious City's desire is. Last season they got 100 points and people say: ‘How can they do that again?’

“But they worked exactly on that way - ruthless, full of desire, greedy. Everything you need to be really successful. That's how I saw it.

“December was not their month but now it is January. We say what we say because you ask. If we only prepared, Pep would not say to the players: ‘If you lose it, now it is over.'

“Nobody speaks like that. We are only in the game. Do the best you can, get the result you deserve.”

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A year ago Liverpool found themselves a massive 18 points behind City, who were the league's runaway leaders.

All the talk then was about an era of dominance at the Etihad but Klopp's Liverpool have made giant strides forward since then. Now it's Guardiola's side playing catch up.

“We don’t have to talk about our points in comparison to City because we played them once and it was a draw so that had absolutely no influence,” Klopp insisted.

“We got the points because of the performances in the games we have played – our consistency. We had luck in some games but, even then, I would say we deserved to win against Everton and we deserved the point against City.

“We could perform like that because of the attitude that the boys showed. The one time you are not focused, you will slip and fail. We should try to be 100% concentrated and try the best we can do because we can’t do more.”

Klopp has inflicted more defeats on Guardiola than any other manager - losing just one of their past eight meetings. Liverpool have the recent experience of triumphing at the Etihad – one of three occasions they beat City in 2017/18.

He added: “The boys know that but I don’t prepare any game in the world by saying: ‘Last time there we smashed them.”

“That is just not right. We changed, they changed, the situation changed, the weather will be different, the pitch will be different, there's nothing to compare.

“To know you can do it is not bad. It is better than losing the last five games there 10-0, but it does not help in a massive way.”

Riyad Mahrez's late penalty miss at Anfield in October was one of a number of dramatic finales which have gone Liverpool's way so far this term.

Divock Origi's last-gasp derby winner against Everton proved to be the catalyst for a memorable December. It was the first time in the club's history that they have rattled off eight straight wins in a calendar month.

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“The home game with City was very special,” Klopp said.

“It was full of respect from both sides for each other. Nobody wanted to really open up because if you do it they kill you. We will see but that was too long ago.

“Both the penalty miss and Origi's goal were important moments. You cannot be unbeaten so far if you don't have luck. We didn't have a lot in the years before and not a lot this season but we had these moments.”

Klopp referred to the exciting development of his side when he talked about how the current crop had “finally got rid of the backpack” by reaching the Champions League final last season.

He believes the Reds are no longer weighed down by trying to live up to the club's illustrious history.

(Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“At some point, you have to be yourself and not try to be like someone else. Last season we were absolutely ourselves with the very special excitement the boys delivered with this really special run,” Klopp said.

“It wasn’t because of 2005 or something. We reached it through really difficult games – Porto, Man City, Roma. They were unbelievable and that is what I meant. The final thing would have been to win but we didn’t do it.”

Klopp was asked what winning the title would do for the talented squad he has assembled.

“It would be something very special, for sure, but we don’t have to constantly talk about winning the league in January,” he added.

“You cannot do it in January, February, March, April. It would make you mad. You can’t constantly talk about what happens in May otherwise you will be like this (gasps and bites his hands).

“You have to calm down as well. Really. If you write the best story now and not in May if it happens it will look s*** because that is when you deliver the biggest thing. Be ready to make step by step by step and everything will be fine.”

If Liverpool make it 11 away league games unbeaten it will represent the best run on their travels since 1989. The class of 2018/19 are busy making their own history.

“I trust them 100% but you never feel certainty,” Klopp said.

“I will never be so sure to say: ‘We will deliver again’. It is always an open question: ‘Can we do it again?’

“I played football. You win four games in a row but in the fifth game, what does it mean?

“We have a chance to win again, not because of the last four games. These boys are of a completely different level and quality. We are all in this situation. It is not about me talking like this or that, we are all in the same mood 100%."