Manchester City have arguably their biggest match of the season ahead of them this weekend.
Having lost their three previous Premier League games, City will be looking to end their losing streak when they take on table toppers Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
One figure in City’s squad who won’t be featuring in this upcoming clash is Rodri, who suffered a season-ending injury back in September during the 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
Despite that, the Spaniard has shared some insight into what it has been like for him to play against the Merseyside club over recent years.
- READ MORE: Who is Rodri? Get to know Man City’s modest midfield maestro who won a Champions League final
Rodri sheds light on facing Liverpool for Man City
Featuring as a guest star in a recent episode of The Rest Is Football, Rodri was asked who he has found it difficult to play against in his career, to which he gave this honest response.
He said: “In the Premier League? My first year was the worst because we faced that Liverpool, that was unbelievable. Unbelievable.
“I think I would say, I think it would be the best team I will to face in my career, that Liverpool. But in that prime, [Mohamed] Salah, I haven’t seen any player that way.
“With that, he was like a knife. Not that skilful, like many, like, let’s say Neymar or Vini or these kind of players, but like a knife, scoring, assisting.”
Rodri’s record against Liverpool
Since joining the Blues back in 2019, Rodri has faced off against Liverpool in the Premier League 10 times.
Out of those 10 league games, the midfielder has been on the winning side just three times, drawing five and losing two.
| Rodri vs Liverpool | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost |
| Premier League | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Carabao Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Community Shield | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
One midfielder who is likely to feature in Sunday’s clash at Anfield is Ilkay Gundogan, who discussed City’s match with Liverpool following Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Feyenoord, saying this when asked if this is a must-win game for the Blues.
He said: “To stay in the title race probably yes. 11 points would be a huge gap. Anfield is always tough. We’ve struggled in recent years.
“Liverpool are a great team full of confidence. It’s as tough as possible. We have to look at ourselves and try to do the things we can do better, as quickly as possible.
“We take it, stay humble, head down and try to put in the work in the next few days and prepare as good as possible for a tough game.”
With Rodri also mentioning how hard it has been to face off against Salah in City’s meetings with Liverpool, the fact that the Egyptian has scored six goals and delivered three assists in the 10 league games Rodri has been a part of shows why the midfielder has picked him out as being a difficult opponent.
Moving forward, given the rotten form Pep Guardiola’s side are on at the moment, it’s safe to say that they’ll be desperate to do what the club have only been able to do twice in the Premier League era and secure a win at Anfield this weekend.
