Liverpool, Manchester City and a clash that will reveal the Premier League’s new reality

As Manchester City finally got all of their players back together again, after mostly being abroad for a crisis that threatens to tear the club apart, manager Enzo Maresca of course had to go through all the usual processes. The group did address the difficulty of their circumstances, amid the anticipation that Anfield on Sunday is going to be unlike any atmosphere ever seen. “The noise”, as Maresca put it. Enzo Maresca and Manchester City face a hostile atmosphere at Anfield on Sunday (Reuters) And yet the great question about this game, and also this season, is how much all of this can actually be shut out. It was almost humorously incongruous to hear Maresca talk about bringing “our game plan” as if this was a normal game. This is not really a build-up to be discussing whether Jeremy Jacquet will be fit enough to handle Erling Haaland , or previous meetings between Maresca and Andoni Iraola . It may well be the most significant Premier League fixture in history, and it sums up an entire era that isn’t really because of the football. There’s even the wonder over whether the result will actually matter, amid the prospect of a huge points deduction for City or potentially expulsion. This is the most seismic of Super Sundays and yet the pursuit of the Premier League title, that this match may influence, barely feels secondary. This is almost the competition’s event horizon, a consequence of so many complicated strands over years coming together and then spilling everywhere. For all the talk of this damaging the Premier League’s brand, however, interest has never been more intense. You can see it in media numbers for anything to do with the City case, which surpasses interest in their games by a number of degrees. A story of such seriousness, right up to its geopolitical concerns, still only drives the Premier League soap opera. Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool is set to be the most seismic of Super Sundays due to events away from the pitch (AP) The main focus will be off the pitch. Figures in European football - including at this week’s Leaders in Sport event at Stamford Bridge and Uefa’s Ordinary Congress - were talking about how this is one game where they’d just love to be at. And, again, it isn’t for the beauty of the game. Even some connected to Manchester United, and not those who used to work at City, have spoken privately about how they want Liverpool to win. Anfield is going to be a literal soundcheck for all of the emotions in football about the City case, and set a tone. It is remarkable how often the fixture list has this extraordinary capacity to throw up matches that most fit the prevailing storyline. And there’s never been a story like this. It’s known Liverpool fans are going to try and “greet” the opposition bus, a prospect that City fans already see as echoing and deepening previous tensions between the clubs. There will be reminders of Jurgen Klopp ’s rivalry with City, from which Liverpool ultimately feel a truly brilliant team was robbed of greater glories. The Anfield crowd will make it clear they believe they have suffered from the effects of this cheating more than anyone. There will no doubt be a lot of references to “sham” and "cheats", in banners and chants, all giving City the grandest introduction to what they’re now going to face going forward. And yet a football match still actually has to be played. Back to normal, but a new normal. Liverpool will be fired up by the verdict from Man City’s rule breaches and the crowd will be hostile at Anfield (PA) Liverpool are obviously going to be fired up. Even if most of these players did not play in Klopp’s team, it is one of those games where the atmosphere just infuses the team. There’ll be that energy from the off. You can already imagine one of those matches which just starts with a thundering tackle to fit the fervour of the crowd, both feeding off each other. The wonder is how City will respond; whether they meet fire with force. The game forms a fascinating case study in that sense, too. How does a team respond to a crisis of such scale, that has no precedent? The words “siege mentality” have already been used a lot. Pep Guardiola obviously used the same psychology when the charges were initially announced back in February 2023, propelling City to a treble. The sense of the world being against them - “the global enemies of football”, as CEO Ferran Soriano put it in one of the leaked emails - may also galvanise the squad. It can be powerful. In these circumstances, however, it’s also extremely fragile. The weight of all of this is that heavy. Man City boss Enzo Maresca has a difficult task to keep his players focused on this game and the matches to come in the near future (PA) In February 2023, after all, Guardiola could point to how these were only charges. Everyone could repeat that line that they have full faith in the club with more confidence. Everything was more speculative. There was a greater uncertainty, which allowed a clarity on the pitch. That is not the case now. We have an outcome, and it is currently very bad for the club. This is about much more than how the team performs. Players have concerns over their own futures. And that can be fatal for a team. This is also in a world where modern coaches, like Guardiola and Maresca, abruptly remove players who they think don’t fully believe due to the need to constantly have a tunnel vision; to have no doubt. And now it’s a team filled with doubt. So while a siege response can sustain them for a while, this looks especially susceptible to adversity. It isn’t impossible to see a situation in this Liverpool game - or any, really, in the near future - where they started well and with full blood only for a setback to bring collapse. Many at other clubs are even curious to see how committed they’ll be. It is a game unlike any other, that will set a new reality for the Premier League. So much of it will feel surreal. A new abnormal.