The game marks our return to competitive action after a near six-week break for the 2022 World Cup finals.
All told, City had 16 players on duty at the Qatar showpiece with some players seeing their countries go out at the group stage and others running deeper into the tournament including Julian Alvarez who was part of the Argentina squad that were crowned world champions last weekend.
As such it has meant there has been a staggered return to training for the majority of our players.
Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan both returned to the CFA late last week while Nathan Ake, Rodrigo and Manuel Akanji were also back in training earlier this week.
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And as he looked ahead to the Etihad meeting with the current Carabao Cup holders, the boss revealed that another six players had returned to training on Wednesday as we prepare to play host to Jurgen Klopp’s side
“Step by step they come back,” Pep revealed.
“Today six players come back and it’s the first time. We are happy they are back and generally they played really well.
“They played a unique experience. If they come back as good as possible they will try to live another experience in four years’ time in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“The players at the World Cup are in better condition than the ones that were here.
“Sergio Gomez /Erling Haaland /Riyad Mahrez/Cole Palmer they are missing a little bit.
“They competed every day and we had holidays. That’s why it was so important to maintain the rhythm. We had one month off.”
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The boss also spoke about his happiness for Alverez following Argentina’s stunning World Cup victory.
And he revealed the striker would have a short period of time off before returning to the Club to resume training.
“We are incredibly happy for him. Congratulations to him, and to Nico Otamendi, Lionel Messi for Argentina,” added Guardiola.
“Well deserved champion. Julian is with us and we are delighted because he played a lot. We have a world champion in our team.
“He will have a week, maybe 10 days off because (there were) many games and tension. I don’t know the exact date he will come back.”
CITY V LIVERPOOL
Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre at 18:00 (UK) with our Matchday Live show set to start just before 19:00 (UK).
The Matchday Live team will reconvene for a half-time debrief before a more in-depth post-match verdict after the full-time whistle.
The guests will also answer viewer questions throughout the broadcast, with audience participation actively encouraged on Matchday Live. To get in touch, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.
During the game you can listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann while our text commentary continues.
Highlights from the match can be found later in the evening, while a full-match replay will also be available to CITY+ subscribers from midnight following the game.
