Anfield’s meeting with Manchester City on Sunday was already one of the fixtures that could set the tone of a Premier League season. The financial case hanging over City has now given it a sharper edge. Liverpool supporters are preparing a hostile welcome for the league leaders, with old arguments from Jürgen Klopp’s years on Merseyside returning to the foreground.
Why it landed this week
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Arsenal
- Manchester United
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Jürgen Klopp
- Erling Haaland
- Pep Guardiola
City’s first match since an independent commission found the club guilty of serious financial breaches comes at a ground where the issue is unlikely to be treated politely. The club maintains that it is innocent, says the ruling contains material errors of law and lacks a sound legal basis, and has confirmed an appeal.
The case concerns nine seasons, from 2009-10 through to 2017-18. The commission’s findings refer to sham commercial agreements, a lack of co-operation during the investigation and alleged deception worth £900 million across that period. Possible penalties include a points deduction, an unprecedented fine and, at the extreme end, relegation.
For Liverpool, the timing brings back a dispute that never quite left the memory. Klopp repeatedly questioned City’s spending power between 2019 and 2022, arguing that some clubs operated with financial freedom unavailable to the rest. After City signed Haaland in 2022, he said they had the world’s strongest side and had added the leading striker on the market, while Liverpool could not conduct business in the same fashion.
His broader point was that Liverpool spent within the money it generated, whereas other clubs faced no comparable ceiling. Those remarks caused friction with City at the time; they now carry rather more weight among a home support that believes it has reason to feel aggrieved.
Old rivals, new pressure
The modern Liverpool-City rivalry was built in the tightest of title races. City won the 2018-19 Premier League on 98 points, leaving Klopp’s Liverpool one point behind on 97, before the two managers’ sides fought repeatedly for English honours.
The years covered by the charges pre-date much of that Guardiola-Klopp head-to-head, but City won three league titles during them: 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18. Manchester United finished second in the first and third of those campaigns, while Liverpool were runners-up in 2013-14.
Liverpool are also among four clubs — alongside Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham — that have told City they intend to seek compensation through legal advisers. The club and Fenway Sports Group have made no public noise about the matter, preferring to assess the legal advice and the likely consequences of the appeal process.
Anfield prepares its answer
The Kop is expected to make its view plain. Supporter groups have spoken of a particularly fierce atmosphere, with chants and banners expected to reference the financial verdict. City’s players will arrive knowing that an old footballing rivalry has acquired a fresh grievance.
Merseyside Police have confirmed enhanced arrangements around the stadium, aimed at keeping order at the approaches and preventing trouble around the Manchester City team coach.
Liverpool sit sixth, six points behind City, so there is football business beneath the noise. A home win would cut into the gap to the leaders and give Liverpool an immediate response on the pitch while the rest of the case moves through its legal stages.
The final sanction has yet to be decided, and City’s appeal will run its course. Until then, the league table carries an unusual uncertainty. At Anfield, though, the first response will be rather more direct.
The next fixture
Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
