How history shows Liverpool should be worried about Man City despite being five points clear of them

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Arne Slot’s Liverpool side have shown Manchester City that they are ready to do all it takes to dethrone them as the kings of the Premier League this season.

Pep Guardiola’s men are undergoing a rough patch — notably losing their last two league games against AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion by the same 2-1 scoreline — trailing Slot and Co by five points at the top of the table.

Liverpool, on the other hand have only dropped points in their 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest and in their 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	11	9	1	1	21	6	15	28
2	Man CityManchester City	11	7	2	2	22	13	9	23
3	ChelseaChelsea	11	5	4	2	21	13	8	19
4	ArsenalArsenal	11	5	4	2	18	12	6	19
5	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	11	5	4	2	15	10	5	19
6	BrightonBrighton	11	5	4	2	19	15	4	19

Arne Slot’s start to life at Anfield has been mightily impressive to say the least as the Reds’ decision to appoint him as the successor to Jurgen Klopp is looking like a masterstroke.

As things stand, Manchester City have every reason to view Liverpool as their main title rivals.

Much like City, who only signed Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan in the summer, Liverpool also just signed Federico Chiesa — whose only start came in his side’s 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United in the Carabao Cup.

• READ MORE: Man City Premier League fixture list for 2024/25 season in full

Liverpool should be concerned about key Man City stat in title race

With that being the case, Arne Slot has only used the squad at his disposal and yet, his side have looked like the best team in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, City have suffered four back-to-back losses for the first time under Pep Guardiola — indicating just why their supporters have every reason to be a panicked state.

However, BBC Sport has revealed that in the past four seasons, Manchester City have been six points or more behind the league leaders at some point — lifting the league title in each of these campaigns.

In the 2022/2023 campaign, the Sky Blues were eight points behind Arsenal and yet, they went on to become treble-winners.

But in the past four seasons, Manchester City have lost a mere four games after Christmas.

With the statistics painting such a picture, Liverpool have every reason to be concerned despite their splendid start to the season.

Rodri revealed Guardiola mindset during business end of the season

Rodri revealed Pep Guardiola’s attitude during the business end of every season is to be more demanding than ever and prohibit any signs of complacency from his players.

The Spaniard stated in March: “Well, like everyone, [he] knows that this is where we fight for everything and of course, this is the moment of the year that is going to demand more from us.”

“No excuses, there’s no moments of, how do you say, laying down or whatever. It’s the moment to be compact and go forward no matter what happens and it’s something you can feel from his speech.”

Arne Slot will be have to be wary of Pep Guardiola’s men when the title fight starts to reach its boiling point.

Manchester City would be backing themselves to go all the way if they are in touching distance with Liverpool in terms of their respective points totals during the business end of the season.

With City’s and Guardiola’s know-how in title races, they are virtually impossible to outdo in such circumstances.

History suggests that the Premier League champions should remain quietly confident about their title prospects.