Pep Guardiola has hailed Liverpool ‘the best’ opponent for his 1,000th game.
Guardiola will hit the milestone when his Manchester City side welcome the reigning Premier League champions to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Since joining the English top flight almost a decade ago, the Catalan has regularly challenged the Reds for domestic supremacy under Jurgen Klopp.
Between them, the North West rivals claimed the last eight titles and are set to go head-to-head again alongside Arsenal, who sit six points clear of City.
Ahead of his landmark outing in the dugout, Guardiola claimed that his Anfield counterparts are a perfect adversary and his biggest rival in English football.
He said: “If I could chose one rival for this personal milestone that I want to share with many, many people – that would be the best.
“I have been a long time in this country. Of course, Barcelona and the impact it had on my life as a ball boy, football player and manager. Bayern was an incredible step.
“But Liverpool, especially with Jurgen [Klopp], have been the biggest rival in this country and it could not be better. The destiny of the universe.
“I know how quickly things change. One week ago it was Liverpool ‘disaster, disaster’ and now they win two and it’s ‘are they back to their best?’
“I’m pretty sure the managers take a little bit more perspective of the situation.
“Always there in a season there are ups and down.”