Jurgen Klopp has gone viral recently after highlighting the financial advantage Manchester City boast in the Premier League, but with these two English giants set to face off this Sunday, Liverpool have been hit with another disadvantage.
According to the Athletic, the Merseyside heavyweights could be without one of their most talented players for this highly-anticipated showdown. That man is none other than Ibrahima Konate, a player widely regarded as one of the best young center-backs in world football.
The Frenchman made his much-awaited return from injury last Sunday in the Premier League during his team's visit to Arsenal, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 3-2 defeat. The former RB Leipzig ace then went on to start in the Reds' UEFA Champions League showdown with Rangers, which they won convincingly, beating the Scottish giants 7-1.
However, Konate missed Friday's training session after picking up a muscular problem and while this issue is nothing serious, he is now a doubt for Sunday's clash with Guardiola's men.
If he is unfit come the weekend fixture, Klopp will not risk the 23-year-old. This would leave him in a tricky situation, though, as Joel Matip is already sidelined while Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a nasty knock in the defeat to the Gunners, meaning Joe Gomez will also be needed at right-back.
Liverpool are currently 14 points behind league leaders Arsenal and trail Manchester City by 13. That means the gap could increase to 17 and 16 points, respectively, if Salah and Co. were to lose on Sunday.
And given the devastating form of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, this could soon become a reality. However, Jurgen's new formation caused Arteta's men issues last weekend and it will be interesting to see how the 4-4-2 works against Guardiola's side.
