Manchester City are preparing for their first football match since receiving a guilty verdict for multiple breaches of Premier League financial rules and – of course – their opponent on Sunday is one of the clubs that hold grievances over their losses during the seasons in question.
asserted
that → prepare → question
Liverpool’s Anfield crowd is expected to deliver an angry reception for the Premier League clash, and City manager Enzo Maresca and his players must prepare for the backlash to continue throughout the game itself.
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backlash → expect → game
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4‘He → detail → farewell
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City have protested their innocence and have appealed the verdict that went against them on more than 100 charges of financial wrongdoing.
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that → mean → wrongdoing
Still, the scandal remains the biggest in the history of club football’s richest, most competitive and most popular league, and the backlash from the stands is likely to linger long after any appeal outcome or potential punishments are finalised.
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outcome → remain → stands
The current crop of players and staff are quite simply going to have to face the music for charges that stretch from 2009 to 2018.
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that → go → 2018
The fact that their opening match after the international window, when the guilty verdict was delivered, is at Anfield is something that a scriptwriter may even pause to think is outlandish.
“If they want an understanding of how angry the game is going to be, then Anfield will tell them like you would never believe,” former Manchester United captain and England defender Gary Neville declared recently on The Overlap podcast.
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Neville → deliver → podcast
“I suspect there may be banners, there will certainly be chanting.
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I → suspect → ?
There will be a reception like you have never seen for them at Anfield… it will be a brutal day.”
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it → see → Anfield
Why are Liverpool set to give Man City an angry reception?
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Liverpool → set → reception
Of all the clubs that finished second best to City since the Abu Dhabi buyout, Liverpool will argue that they have been among the hardest hit.
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they → finish → hit
There is a growing feeling that any titles that City are stripped of should be awarded to their nearest rivals, or defeated finalists, during the period investigated.
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City → be → period
For Liverpool, however, their two closest calls with City came after 2018.
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calls → come → 2018
Under former coach Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool won the Premier League in 2020, but the team also finished second to Pep Guardiola’s City by one point in the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons.
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team → win → seasons
Both were memorable title races that raised the bar in terms of points earned and the standard of football played.
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that → raise → football
Neither will see Liverpool retrospectively awarded the title if the Premier League does indeed choose to go down that path regarding honours won in the seasons that were under investigation.
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that → see → investigation
Liverpool’s fans will assert, and most likely vociferously argue on Sunday, that what helped City reach that level was nearly a decade of rule-breaking, as the independent panel has found.
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panel → assert → breaking
Liverpool do, however, have a claim to at least one title in the period in question.
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Liverpool → have → question
The Reds, under Brendan Rodgers, finished runners-up by two points to City in 2013-2014 – Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip in a match against Chelsea the moment etched on everyone’s memory from that campaign.
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slip → finish → campaign
It left the Anfield faithful continuing their wait for a first top-flight title since 1990.
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It → leave → 1990
Only weeks earlier, Gerrard was the star of the show as Liverpool beat City 3-2 to seemingly put one hand on the elusive title.
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Liverpool → beat → title
Any retrospective award of titles could see club legend Gerrard finally hold a Premier League winner’s medal.
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Gerrard → see → medal
Do any of Man City’s current setup remain from the period of the charges?
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any → remain → charges
Aside from Phil Foden, who is suspended for the match, no current member of City’s squad even played for the club from 2009-2018.
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member → suspend → 2009
Enzo Maresca, who was a youth-team coach for City in 2020-21 and was assistant to Guardiola in 2022-2023, took over as City’s first-team manager only in June.
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who → take → June
Still, they will be the ones bearing the brunt of the widespread discontent from fan bases up and down the country in the coming months.
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they → bear → months
What will be intriguing is who from City’s ownership or board attends the Liverpool game.
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who → attend → game
How much will the matter weigh on the players under the most intense pressure?
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matter → weigh → pressure
And what will be the reaction of City’s match-going supporters, with the future of their club so uncertain – the potential sanctions include a huge points deduction, even expulsion from the Premier League – and the violations of its ownership clear for all to see in the commission’s verdict?
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all → go → verdict
City lead the league with five wins from five games – all of which were played when the club was being accused of those financial breaches.
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club → lead → breaches
Now the guilty verdict has arrived, it’s time to see the impact on the team – and the reaction of its rivals.
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it → arrive → rivals
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