Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City visit Liverpool on Sunday in a match that is being billed as a potential title decider.
The truth is more convoluted. Entering the weekend, the top three teams in the league were separated by two points. Liverpool (19-2-6, 63 points) is a point up on City (19-3-5, 62), while Arsenal entered its Saturday matchup against Brentford two points back of the Reds.
The hype machine was in full gear ahead of the key Sunday match, and it was given more kindling after Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold asserted that the trophies Liverpool win "mean more" to City's squad do because of City's financial resources.
City's Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias are among those who responded to Alexander-Arnold, leaving both managers trying to lower the temperature on the fixture in what could be the final meeting between Liverpool's Juergen Klopp and City's Pep Guardiola.
The latter insisted his players -- who have won the last three Premier League titles -- didn't need to engage in the pregame chatter to preserve the club's dignity.
"They defend the club not by responding to this guy but what they have done for many years on the pitch every three days," Guardiola said. "I'm incredibly proud of what we have done and I don't need that to feel that my players are really trying to do it."
City are aiming to become the first-ever four-time repeat English league champions but have spent precious little time in the lead this season in part because of Liverpool's excellent campaign.
And while the Reds endured some key injuries in February, they appear to be getting closer to full health. Leading scorer Mo Salah was the latest to return to the squad, having made a late appearance off the bench on Thursday in a 5-1 win at Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.
Meanwhile, City's star tandem of Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are also in form. Haaland has scored in five of his last eight matches (10 goals total), and De Bruyne has assists in five of his past eight contests (nine total).
While Sunday's match is critical, the quality on both sides leaves Klopp believing a bad result for either side won't be fatal.
"If you go through all of the possible scenarios, I don't think after whatever result anybody should open the bottles of champagne," said Klopp, who is stepping down at the end of the season.
