IT is perfectly conceivable that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool tear into Manchester City this Sunday afternoon, hellbent on proving their doubters wrong and propelled by the muscle memory of some remarkable encounters with their nemesis in recent times, encounters so relentlessly frenetic supporters would leave the ground as wrung out as the players. Even neutrals watching on the telly would require a nap soon after the final whistle.

Can you see that happening again at Anfield? Can you see that level of intensity, coupled with fantastical attacking football, returning after two months of pale imitation has seen a once feared creation slip meekly down to mid-table?

Because if you can’t – and you shouldn’t – then for all the talk about the state of Klopp’s side right now, about where they are and who they are, maybe that is the most damning indictment of them all. That Liverpool cannot be trusted to be Liverpool anymore, not even when it really matters.

Somehow, they are going to have to find a way of tapping back into their former glories this weekend, that’s for sure, against a Manchester City machine that has raised a bar that was already set exceedingly high, evolving as much as Liverpool have regressed.

In 2017/18, when Pep Guardiola’s intricate blueprints first successfully translated to the pitch and into his player’s heads, City nudged perfection throughout, ultimately accruing an unprecedented 100 points and scoring a record-breaking 106 league goals. What’s more, it was apparent from the off that something special was materializing with the Blues blasting five-plus goals past several opponents, including Liverpool. Nine games in, this extraordinary collective had found the back of the net 32 times, averaging 3.5 per game.

Nine games in this time out, City have rattled in 33.

Liverpool have conceded first in 10 of their last 12 games while City have not lost from a winning position since May 2021. City to score first and win the match offers up 11/10.

So much of that prolificacy of course is down to Erling Haaland, a ridiculous footballer who is racking up ridiculous numbers. They are figures that defy conventional logic and frankly that slightly annoys because we go to the football to escape a mad and chaotic world. Its supposed to make sense.

To date, the towering Norwegian has fired 15 in the league alone, reaching that tally quicker than anyone before in the Premier League, indeed smashing the previous record by six matches. It’s a haul accumulated from just 21 shots on target meaning he has a conversion rate of 71%, which is just off the scale.

Most pertinently of all, it also means the 22-year-old has scored two more than Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez put together.

It is not only Haaland who is ripping up convention. Kevin De Bruyne is relishing the opportunity to create for his formidable forward and has 11 assists in 11 appearances this term. Furthermore, the artful Belgian has form in this fixture with as many assists v Liverpool than he’s managed against Manchester United and Arsenal combined.

Phil Foden, meanwhile, has six goals and three assists from his nine top-flight outings and he also enjoys this contest, previously putting in some outstanding and match-changing displays.

There is little value in backing Haaland to continue his phenomenal streak. Foden however is 5/2 to score anytime this Sunday.

Factor in too that City are unbeaten in 22 on their travels, have lost just once in their last eight meetings with Liverpool, and presently appear to be complete and ravenous, and common sense strongly hints at an away win that casts Liverpool into greater doom and gloom. In fact, we can go further. There is a chance that City school a peer that until recently matched them, and at Anfield intimidated them.

Those days already feel like they belong in the past. This season, Liverpool have averaged 17.5 shots per game, a healthy return by anyone’s standards, but their chance conversion ratio is poorer than Bournemouth’s, a team they battered 9-0 in an outlier of a performance in August.

Last week, in a revealing loss to Arsenal, they afforded the Gunners 46 touches inside their box and no opponent has come close to matching that for three full years.

More so, Klopp’s set-up in that defeat was a huge red flag as to how much trouble the Reds are in, essentially dispensing with a functioning midfield in favour of packing the side with strikers. It was a boxer past his prime coming out swinging and that rarely ends well.

The last eight meetings featuring these sides have produced a high average of four goals per game. Over 3.5 total goals is well worth considering at 23/20.

Turning to individuals we find Mo Salah in mediocre form, committing to a whole shot per game fewer this term than in 2021/22. Then there’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose defensive frailties have been repeatedly exposed by wingers and pundits alike, while a sustained decline from Fabinho has played a big part in his team’s struggle.

We can highlight too, Klopp’s loyalty to players on the wrong side of their peak but such details dwindle to the over-riding concern, the one that we’re seeing on a weekly basis with our own eyes. Liverpool are knackered, if not yet burnt-out they are being rendered ordinary by several years of highly intensive exertion and effort. And without that ferocious press what we have is merely a very good team.

Where once Jurgen Klopp introduced heavy metal football to the Premier League we are now too often subjected to Def Leppard covers. It’s dad-rock football.

All things being equal, City will win on Sunday. And without Diaz, and Matip, and yes even Trent, given his attacking attributes, it could be by quite a margin too.

The visitors to win by an exact winning margin of three is worth a punt at 17/2.