Who has the upper hand heading into the title showdown?

The showpiece match of not just the Premier League weekend, but of England’s top-flight season so far, is of course set to be played on Sunday evening.

The clash in question will see Manchester City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad for what has been widely described as a ‘title decider’, despite seven full weeks of play remaining before the campaign ends at the end of next month.

As things stand, it is champions City who have the slender advantages, a point clear of Liverpool at the top of the division.

The visitors to Manchester this weekend represent arguably the most in-form side in Europe at present, having won 17 of their last 18 in all competitions as they put Benfica to the sword in the Champions League during the week.

This one would have done good to Luis Diaz! 👊

The former Porto player wins his first #UCL goal for Liverpool to regain their two-goal advantage ✌️

Klopp’s smile says it all! pic.twitter.com/VPpaz89Fot

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 5, 2022

So what will ultimately prove the deciding factor in an Etihad showpiece that will have the eyes of the footballing world firmly fixed on its trades in less than 24 hours?

Managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will of course be called upon to play as central a role as any in the final result in Manchester.

The Spaniard and German are widely regarded as two of Europe’s finest tacticians of the past decade, with the smallest of adjustments from one to get rid of their potentially game-changing counterpart this weekend.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 09: Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola react during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

In turn, ahead of the top-of-the-table showdown fast approaching on Sunday, we at 101 today plunged into the head-to-head record between Klopp and Guardiola, throughout their career as manager to date.

German record

The first country in which Klopp and Guardiola were forced to test their talents against each other consistently was, of course, Germany.

With the former in charge of Borussia Dortmund and the current City director overseeing the proceedings of eternal champion Bayern Munich, the following results have been achieved in eight meetings between the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the Super Cup of the DFB.

Recording in English

Since Klopp opted to take his talents to England, before Guardiola followed suit a year later, in the meantime, the two touchline icons have locked horns on 12 other occasions in domestic competition.

Such matches have been played across the Premier League (11) and the Community Shield (1).

Champions League

The last two meetings to take place in what is quickly turning into one of the most memorable managerial rivalries in football‘s recent memory have been on the continent, in the Champions League.

And it was Jurgen Klopp who proved the dominant force, emerging triumphant from both quarter-final clashes in the 2017/18 campaign.

So what does all the data above tell us regarding the overall head-to-head record between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp?

Remarkably, out of 22 complete meetings in all competitions, the pair are inseparable, posting a record nine wins each, to go along with four draws.

A perfect platform to finally assert their dominance this weekend, then guide Manchester City or Liverpool to the three points and, more importantly, another step closer to the Premier League title.

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