Pep Guardiola is preparing to face a Liverpool side featuring Mo Salah for the last time, with the Man City manager lauding him as âone of the greatestâ in history.
Salah is playing out his Liverpool farewell tour, having announced that he will be leaving the club this summer â a year early.
It means he has a maximum of 15 games left until he departs on a free transfer, starting with Saturdayâs FA Cup quarter-final against storied rivals Man City.
The Egyptian has 13 goals and eight assists in 25 meetings with Man City, his second-highest goal involvement rate of any opponent in his career.
And speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola was asked whether Salah had given him more headaches than any other player, replying: âAbsolutely.
âOne of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency, what a player. Incredible human being.
âGoals, assists, absolute, absolute legend for of course Liverpool Football Club but for the Premier League, for all he has done.
âI think itâs a good moment to say goodbye to him in this country tomorrow.
âHe deserves incredible, incredible recognition for what he has given to the world of football, especially in this country.â
Despite Man Cityâs own struggles this season, they find themselves in a much stronger position than Liverpool heading into Saturdayâs early kickoff.
They hold a 12-point lead over Arne Slotâs side in the Premier League despite playing one game fewer and are strong favourites to advance to the FA Cup semi-finals.
But Guardiola insists Liverpool remain one of Man Cityâs fiercest rivals and their record-breaking summer spend last year will ensure that is the case for âmany, many years.â
âSo many times theyâve been the rival, the biggest, biggest one,â he told reporters.
âThey made an incredible investment last summer to be there for many, many years. Itâs a top contender, top-class players, all of them.
âHopefully we can perform at the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step [in the FA Cup].â
Man City are set to be without Josko Gvardiol on Saturday and face doubts over two more centre-backs in Ruben Dias and John Stones.
Salah is playing out his Liverpool farewell tour, having announced that he will be leaving the club this summer â a year early.
It means he has a maximum of 15 games left until he departs on a free transfer, starting with Saturdayâs FA Cup quarter-final against storied rivals Man City.
The Egyptian has 13 goals and eight assists in 25 meetings with Man City, his second-highest goal involvement rate of any opponent in his career.
And speaking in his pre-match press conference, Guardiola was asked whether Salah had given him more headaches than any other player, replying: âAbsolutely.
âOne of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency, what a player. Incredible human being.
âGoals, assists, absolute, absolute legend for of course Liverpool Football Club but for the Premier League, for all he has done.
âI think itâs a good moment to say goodbye to him in this country tomorrow.
âHe deserves incredible, incredible recognition for what he has given to the world of football, especially in this country.â
Despite Man Cityâs own struggles this season, they find themselves in a much stronger position than Liverpool heading into Saturdayâs early kickoff.
They hold a 12-point lead over Arne Slotâs side in the Premier League despite playing one game fewer and are strong favourites to advance to the FA Cup semi-finals.
But Guardiola insists Liverpool remain one of Man Cityâs fiercest rivals and their record-breaking summer spend last year will ensure that is the case for âmany, many years.â
âSo many times theyâve been the rival, the biggest, biggest one,â he told reporters.
âThey made an incredible investment last summer to be there for many, many years. Itâs a top contender, top-class players, all of them.
âHopefully we can perform at the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step [in the FA Cup].â
Man City are set to be without Josko Gvardiol on Saturday and face doubts over two more centre-backs in Ruben Dias and John Stones.
