Arne Slot insists that Manchester City’s poor Anfield record counts for little.
The fallen Premier League champions travel to face Slot’s Liverpool with an eight-point shortfall to make up on the leaders and their hosts on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won just three times in the red half of Merseyside since 1956 with the latest arriving behind closed doors in the 2020/21 season.
On the flip side, the Reds head into the clash with a solitary victory from their previous eight top-flight meetings in a run stretching back to October 2018.
But Slot has dismissed City’s poor return at Anfield heading into their latest showdown.
He said: “What is even more peculiar is that the only time Liverpool have won the league in the last 30 years was also when there were no fans.
“I believe this record is due to Liverpool consistently having strong teams. It’s a blend of the fans and the players.
“If you only had enthusiastic fans and subpar players, it would be tough to win any match.
“But if you have top-notch players and the fans are fully supportive, it always gives you an extra boost.
“Another statistic is that we have only won once in the last nine or ten matches against City.
“We had never won in the last eight times we played Real Madrid – until the other night when we emerged victorious.
“So for me, data and statistics like these don’t hold much weight in this game.”