In 2016, Guardiola had just joined City after three years at Bayern Munich of which the first two coincided with the final two years of Klopp’s time at Borussia Dortmund.
Guardiola lifted the title in each of those campaigns but he didn’t have Der Klassiker fixtures all his own way – winning four, losing three and drawing one of the eight meetings.
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So there was much anticipation when the pair both found themselves in England, each with a project in its early days.
Guardiola had the task of freshening up one of the oldest squads in the country and returning us again to being challengers while Klopp was looking to win Liverpool’s first ever Premier League title.
The two clubs have since met in the Premier League on 15 occasions – with City winning five, Liverpool winning four and the other six finishing as draws.
The Blues do have the upper hand recently, having only lost one of the last eight Premier League meetings between the sides stretching back to 2019.
Klopp and Guardiola have faced each other more than they’ve faced any other manager across their careers - a total of 29 times.
Klopp’s 11 wins is the most by any manager against Guardiola, while Guardiola’s 10 victories is the most by any manager against the German.
Here we’ll take a look at the Premier League encounters between the managers so far...
Liverpool 1-0 City, December 2016
A Georginio Wijnaldum header made it a glum New Years’ Eve for City fans but in Pep Guardiola’s first season at City, the boss was happy with the fight shown by his team right to the final whistle.
City 1-1 Liverpool, March 2017
Sergio Aguero – who else? – got the equaliser after a James Milner penalty put the visitors up. Aguero tucked home De Bruyne’s cross to give the Etihad hope of a victory that proved elusive, although may have been deserved.
City 5-0 Liverpool, September 2017
Guardiola’s first win over Liverpool as City manager could hardly have been more emphatic. Aguero had us 1-0 up before Sadio Mane was sent off for a dangerously high boot on Ederson.
Gabriel Jesus made it two before half-time before adding a third in the second period. Leroy Sane completed an unforgettable day with two late strikes.
Liverpool 4-3 City, January 2018
One of only two City defeats in the 2017/18 Premier League season as we became the first side to reach 100 points. In truth, City were second best for this one with two late consolation goals adding a respectability to the scoreline.
Liverpool 0-0 City, October 2018
City had started the season with six wins from our first seven matches and Liverpool looked like genuine title contenders. Those factors, and how early this match came in the season, contributed to an Anfield stalemate for this one.
City 2-1 Liverpool, January 2019
Football is a game of fine margins, never more obviously so than in this game. With both sides seemingly unstoppable, it was effectively a title decider.
Goals from Aguero and Sane for City and Roberto Firmino for Liverpool only told part of the story, with John Stones’ goal line clearance somehow squeezing between Mo Salah’s legs. In the end, City won the title by one point.
Liverpool 3-1 City, November 2019
The Blues had endured a stuttering start to the season while Liverpool appeared determined to finally win the league.
That continued in this match, with Bernardo Silva’s 78th minute goal not enough to inspire a comeback.
City 4-0 Liverpool, July 2020
The match began with a guard of honour for Liverpool – the newly crowned champions – and was the first meeting of the sides behind closed doors.
City were up for it from the off and goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and an own goal sealed a big win.
City 1-1 Liverpool, November 2020
After three wins, two draws and one defeat to start our season, there were nerves for City fans forced to watch from their homes. Salah scored a penalty early on before Gabriel Jesus equalised.
De Bruyne’s penalty miss saw both sides take home a point – not a bad result for a City side that were warming up for a title charge.
Liverpool 1-4 City, February 2021
Now fully in our groove after the slow start, Liverpool were just one victim in our run of 15 straight Premier League victories.
Two goals for Ilkay Gundogan, one for Sterling and the moment of the match from Phil Foden put an emphatic gloss on the scoreline and edged us closer to a third title under Guardiola.
Liverpool 2-2 City, October 2021
The third match in a week that saw us travel to Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, City gave our all in this clash of two sides both at the peak of their powers again.
Twice coming from a goal down, it demonstrated the willpower of a City side that would again be formidable defenders of our own title.
City 2-2 Liverpool, April 2022
A game of unimaginably high quality, crystalising the transformative impact both of these managers have had on their sides, ended with City one point ahead at the top of the Premier League.
The Blues twice took the lead and were pegged back, but Guardiola after the match focused on the joy the game would have provided for fans the world over.
“Heads up. I said to the team after the game, how good they have done, how proud we are. I think it was a good game for fans around the world. I am so happy with how we played.”
Liverpool 1-0 City, October 2022
Mo Salah’s second-half goal proved the difference in a tense, tight encounter at Anfield.
Phil Foden appeared to have put City ahead early in the second half, only to see his strike ruled out for an Erling Haaland foul after referee Anthony Taylor adjusted his decision following a VAR intervention.
Both sides had the chances to win, but it was Liverpool who came out on top thanks to Salah’s 76th minute finish.
City 4-1 Liverpool, April 2023
City responded emphatically to Mo Salah’s opener to put four past Alisson thanks to Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish.
It saw Pep become the quickest manager in Premier League history to reach 100 home wins.
The result also kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal with 10 matches remaining in a rare season in which Liverpool were significantly off the pace at the top - ending 22 points behind the Blues.
City 1-1 Liverpool, November 2023
City were left wondering how we hadn’t claimed all three points in this fixture after dominating for much of the game.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 27th minute and became the fastest player to 50 Premier League goals.
In total we had 16 shots but couldn’t double our advantage and eventually paid for that when Trent Alexander-Arnold hit home with 10 minutes to go.
