Manchester City are preparing for an acid test when they visit Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola will try to break his losing streak at his bogey stadium, where he has only managed one victory in 10 visits.
Liverpool and Manchester City return to Premier League action, with both teams having a lot at stake ahead of Sunday’s showdown. The Sky Blues visit the Reds at Anfield sitting second, six points behind leaders Arsenal, so a defeat would be a near-fatal blow to their title hopes.
Meanwhile, Arne Slot’s side sit sixth, one point off the top five, so a home win against the Cityzens is key to staying in the fight to secure Champions League football next season.
If we look back at Manchester City’s visits to Liverpool’s home ground in recent years, we can gauge the enormous challenge Guardiola faces on Sunday in Merseyside, where he has claimed just one victory in his last 10 visits.
Anfield has undoubtedly proven to be the Spanish manager’s bogey stadium. Even in his best years at the helm of the Sky Blues, a visit to Anfield for the former Barcelona manager was like a visit to the dentist, with a record of 1 win, 3 draws and 6 defeats.
The Spanish coach made his first visit to Liverpool as Manchester City manager in a Premier League match in December 2016, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat. A year later, Pep’s second visit ended in a 7-goal thriller in favour of the Reds, who took all three points after winning 4-3 in January 2018.
That same year, the Reds and the Cityzens faced each other in the UCL quarter-finals, and the first leg at Anfield was a nightmare for Guardiola, who saw his team fall to a 3-0 defeat in April 2018, before being eliminated from the competition after also losing 2-1 at home in the second leg.
After three consecutive defeats, Guardiola managed to hold Liverpool to a goalless draw at Merseyside in October 2018, although a year later, in November 2019, history repeated itself and the Cityzens lost 3-1 away to the Reds.
Things looked set to change when, in February 2021, Guardiola finally claimed a 4-1 victory at Anfield with goals from Foden, Sterling and a brace from Gundogan, but that victory came in an empty stadium during Coronavirus restrictions in 2021. In other words, the Sky Blues have not beaten Liverpool in front of their fans at Anfield since 2003.
However, that victory did not prove to be a turning point for the Spanish coach, who was held to two draws and two defeats in his next four visits to Merseyside, holding the hosts to 2-2 and 1-1 draws in October 2021 and March 2024 respectively, and losing 1-0 and 2-0 in October 2022 and December 2024.
Hardest Big Six away day
Liverpool have therefore proven to be by far the toughest nut to crack for Guardiola away from home among the Big Six, followed by Tottenham Hotspur, against whom Guardiola has a record of five wins, one draw and seven defeats.
It is worth mentioning that not all of these matches have been played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as until the end of the 2016/17 season, Spurs played their home matches at White Hart Lane.
While their new stadium was being built, the Lilywhites played their home games at Wembley in the 2017/18 season, before moving to their new and current stadium the following season.
As for Chelsea, Stamford Bridge has been a relatively impartial stadium for Guardiola, who has claimed 5 wins, 2 draws and 4 defeats in 11 visits.
Old Trafford, despite having been a very difficult place for Manchester City to visit at the beginning of the century, has become a pleasant destination for the former FC Barcelona manager, who has won seven games, drawn three and lost four at the Red Devils’ home ground.
Without a doubt, the rival that the Spanish Big Six manager most enjoys travelling to is Arsenal, as Guardiola has an incredible record at the Emirates Stadium of eight wins, three draws and four defeats, including a run of seven consecutive victories between March 2018 and February 2023.