This the first of the New Year brings what could potentially be the highlight of the Premier League calendar thus far.
Manchester City welcome league leaders Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium looking to make ground on the runaway Reds.
Ahead of the meeting, Liverpool total 54 points after 20 games with a goal difference of +20, with City currently in third, seven points behind on 47 with a goal difference of +38. Tottenham Hotspur sit nestled in second having played a game extra than either of the other two teams.
Whereas Liverpool remain undefeated, Guardiola’s side have suffered an atrocious December, falling to three defeats - one more than they experienced in the entirety of their record-breaking 2018/19 season to win their third Premier League title. It is however extremely imprudent to discount Manchester City from taking the race all the way to the end of the season, and a home win on Thursday over their fellow heavyweights would surely reignite the title-chase touch-paper.
But how would the two championship-hopefuls stand up against the big boys from around the continent.
The Spanish La Liga, French Ligue 1, German Bundesliga, and Italian Serie A have certainly enjoyed their own thrills and spills after the first half of their respective seasons.
Incredibly, in Serie A, a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Juventus would push Jurgen Klopp’s marauding Liverpool into second - after 19 games - by a single point. The Bianconeri have accumulated 53 points from 17 wins, and have dropped points just twice - against Genoa and Atalanta - and have set a record for then highest tally gained in a calendar year. The Old Lady, astonishingly searching for the eighth successive Scudetto, are unbeaten like Liverpool.
Manchester City would be challenging with Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli in second, but would have the advantage in superior goal difference. Napoli’s currently stands at +20 after 19 games.
Paris Saint-Germain have been merciless in Ligue 1 - though their attention is dominated by Champions League success where they await a highly-anticipated meeting with resurgent Manchester United. Les Parisiens have also played just 17 games and have 47 points, well on course to break the century by the end of the season and would currently push Liverpool down to second.
Bundesliga would be spicy, with Lucien Favre’s Borussia Dortmund determined to break the Bayern Munich monopoly that has plagued the German top tier for the past seven years. Liverpool would be ahead by three points thanks to the shock loss Die Schwarzgleben suffered in mid-December at the hands of Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Where Liverpool and Manchester City’s prestige would really show is in Spain. Table-toppers Barcelona have 37 points, in a skirmish with Atletico Madrid on three points behind.
Both English sides would be well ahead of any of the current leading pack, after 17 games (with the extended La Liga Christmas break to take into consideration). Take off three points for Manchester City from their last three results and they would remain top of the Spanish top tier by seven points. Liverpool would be clearly ahead by that margin.
