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After the interminable international break, Liverpool finally return to action on Saturday lunchtime with a difficult-looking assignment away to Manchester City.

Fresh from the Arsenal annihilation , Jurgen Klopp's charges face another big game against one of their top-six rivals, but Pep Guardiola's side are unlikely to be as accommodating as Arsene Wenger's were last month.

The game also sees Klopp and Guardiola renew a respectful rivalry which started back in the Bundesliga in 2013.

No other manager has beaten Guardiola as many times as Klopp; he emerged victorious against the Catalan four times as Borussia Dortmund coach, and secured a 1-0 win over him on New Year's Eve at Anfield last year.

Liverpool also played out a breathless 1-1 draw at the Etihad back in March - a game which led Guardiola to claim as "one of the most special days" of his life!

The Reds enter the game in form, and Klopp's unbeaten team will head to the Etihad with August Player of the Month Sadio Mane in their ranks, looking to add to his three goals so far.

However, serial goal-hound Sergio Aguero needs just one more to become the all-time leading non-European scorer in Premier League history - and he's scored in all five of his games against Liverpool at the Etihad.

One more will see him edge past Dwight Yorke on to 124.

This weekend's standout Premier League fixture has been built up since the end of the international break earlier this week on these pages and beyond - and here's how it's been discussed from elsewhere.

Writing for the Daily Mail , Glen Williams writes: "Jurgen Klopp will take his Liverpool side down the M62 to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City this weekend.

"Liverpool and City will be content with their starts to the season, both winning two and drawing one of their opening three games, but this weekend will be another big test.

"The Reds have played some electrifying football up top, scoring eight goals already in this campaign, while City have managed to grind out some results."

The Telegraph 's Chris Bascombe focuses on Klopp decision to omit Philippe Coutinho from his travelling squad at the Etihad.

"Jurgen Klopp has compared Philippe Coutinho’s summer transfer request to a lovers’ tiff after confirming the Brazilian will not be in the squad for Saturday’s tip to Manchester City," he writes.

"Klopp will reintegrate the 25-year-old into his side over time, but says he must first prove his fitness.

"But there will be no bad blood between the pair moving forward after they held talks upon Coutinho’s return from Brazil. Klopp says the failed bids of Barcelona will be swiftly forgotten."

Miguel Delaney of The Independent focuses on the long-running and healthy rivalry between the two managers in the dugout.

He writes: "Whereas Klopp’s approach is more easily translatable between teams and can be more quickly taken to a highly competitive level through the effects of his sheer personality, Guardiola’s requires a much deeper understanding - but that kind of understanding can take a team to a much higher peak when it is perfect.

"It is something symbolically reflected on the pitch - those three-four-second attacks against 15-second build-ups - and raises an interesting philosophical football question: who is right? Or, perhaps more suitably, whose do you prefer?

"Would you take Klopp getting a team playing rousingly cacophonous football soon or Guardiola getting a team playing to a glorious crescendo in time?

"The answer probably depends on a side’s circumstances but also requires proper appreciation of how they work and what they try to do."

Sports Mole 's Barney Corkhill highlights Klopp's impressive record against his top-six rivals.

He says: "Reds fans around the world would have been bemoaning the same old Liverpool when defending set pieces proved to their Achilles heel during the topsy-turvy 3-3 with Watford on the opening day of the season, but their most recent outing would have reminded them that there are positives to their identity under Klopp.

"Liverpool have been notorious for thriving against their direct rivals since the German took charge, and they enhanced that reputation further still with a resounding 4-0 over Arsenal before the international break - a scoreline which flattered the Gunners more than it did Liverpool.

"The Reds are now unbeaten in their last 16 league matches against the teams who finished in the top seven last season, winning nine of those and drawing seven in a run which stretches back to January 2016."

The Guardian 's Jamie Jackson writes: "This should be a feast of attacking play as Pep Guardiola’s possession-based tactics take on Jurgen Klopp’s aggressive forward line.

"Manchester City and Liverpool each harbour title hopes so this should offer a gauge of how close they may go. Last season’s corresponding match ended 1-1 and two years ago City suffered a 4-1 thrashing."

"Expect either manager to be jubilant with a mere 1-0 win

Footbal365 have also given their take on Saturday's big match, picking it as their 'Game to Watch'.

"Had you offered Jurgen Klopp three points from this tough Premier League double header either side of the international break, he might well have taken it," they write.

"Had you offered him four points, he would have snapped your hand off before asking why you suddenly had the power to give out wishes like some sort of football genie.

"With that in mind, you might expect Klopp to play safe against Manchester City’s fluid and dangerous attack. Yet therein lies the beauty of Saturday lunchtime’s game.

"Neither side could defend properly last season, undermined by their own defensive incompetence, and yet both managers spent the summer adding to their attacking armoury and failing to buy central midfielders or central defenders.

"So rather than a cagey contest, we’re far more likely to have a version of football-basketball between the top six’s two most top-heavy teams, where both sides take it in turns to invite the other on before counter-attacking at speed. If that doesn’t sound sexy to you, we can’t be friends."