Jurgen
Klopp’s men are in contention to become the first English team to win all four
major trophies in one season.
They
lifted the League Cup in February and advanced to the last four of the
Champions League after surviving a late scare in their quarter-final second leg
against Benfica on Wednesday.
With
Liverpool expected to see off Spanish side Villarreal in the semi-finals of
Europe’s elite club competition, it is Premier League leaders City who will provide
the major obstacle to their ambitions.
City
are just one point ahead of their title rivals in the Premier League with seven
games left after last weekend’s 2-2 draw.
Pep
Guardiola’s team are also in the hunt for the Champions League crown and could
face Liverpool in the final if they beat Real Madrid in the semis.
City
have a rare feat of their own to aim for as they seek to become only the second
English side to win the prized treble of the Premier League, Champions League,
and FA Cup.
The
grand goals of both City and Liverpool mean the stakes could not be higher when
they clash for the second time within a week, this time at Wembley for a place
in the FA Cup final.
One
team will leave the national stadium on a high, the other having to quickly
refocus.
Having
closed the gap to City from a 14-point margin in January, Liverpool are living
up to Klopp’s desire to be as “annoying as possible” to the Premier League
champions.
Their
two league meetings this season both ended in 2-2 draws and it could take extra
time and penalties to separate them this weekend.
“City
were really strong last week, we were not at our best,” said Klopp. “I would
like to see a game where we are at our best as well.”
He
added: “The boys did a lot of good stuff in the game, but I really think in a
couple of positions we are really able to perform on a completely different
level.”
‘Many
Difficult Games’
As
Klopp concedes, Liverpool were slightly fortunate to escape the Etihad Stadium
unscathed last Sunday but they could have a significant advantage for the
rematch.
Klopp
was able to start with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk on the
bench for Wednesday’s 3-3 draw against Benfica, keeping his three key players
fresh for the latest City showdown.
In
contrast, City were left battered and bruised after an ill-tempered 0-0 draw
against Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Although
City progressed to the last four, Guardiola said they are in “big trouble”
after Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker limped off injured and Phil Foden
finished the game with a bandaged head.
City
were planning to travel straight to London from Madrid to prepare for the
Liverpool match but their Spanish midfielder Rodri admitted the hectic schedule
was taking its toll.
“The
calendar is crazy. We’ve had these two games against Atletico, the other day
against Liverpool. You have to work 100 percent and now we have Liverpool
again, too many difficult games at the same time but it is what it is,” he
said.
“We
have to refresh our minds, recover and give the best shape in the next game.”
In
Sunday’s semi-final, Chelsea face Crystal Palace looking to show they have
recovered from their painful Champions League exit against Real Madrid.
Chelsea
overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit to lead 4-3 on aggregate in the Bernabeu on
Tuesday, only for Real to grab a late equaliser and dump the holders out with
an extra-time winner. -AFP