Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott admits they cannot afford to focus too much on the multiple threats Manchester City pose or their own game plan will “go out the window.”
The two title rivals go head to head at Anfield on Sunday with Pep Guardiola’s side having hit top form with 18 wins and two draws in their last 20 matches.
Liverpool’s record over the last 19 fixtures has seen them lose just once and draw three times without, at times, coming close to playing at their best.
The attacking options City have at their disposal can be dizzying for opponents but Elliott said they will not be thinking about that.
“Look at the players and the squad depth they have, just Man City as a team are unbelievable,” said the 20-year-old.
“But it is about us not bigging it up too much. We just take it as another game, not worry about it too much, we just do what we do best, not over analyse or think about it too much.
“We will play our football, the way we play as if we’re thinking about them too much then our game plan goes out the window.
“We just have to step up and make sure we’re ready from the start.”
The game will be billed as a potential title decider but Elliott has downplayed the hype.
“I don’t think we can big it up more than any other game,” he added.
“It’s a massive game, of course, but we’re a massive club as well and we just need to be thinking about ourselves.”
Considering the firepower of both sides Sunday’s game may be decided by who takes their chances.
Darwin Nunez warmed up for the tie with two goals in the midweek Europa League win over Sparta Prague, following on from his 99th-minute winner against Nottingham Forest, and represents Liverpool’s biggest threat.
“You know he has always had the skill and the quality, I think just sometimes it was a confidence thing. Now he is showing it,” said Elliott of the Uruguay international who has scored five in his last four games.
“He scored a vital, massive goal at the weekend and now he has come up with another great performance and goals in Prague.
“We are over the moon for him. He just needs to keep going, keep working hard and we will support him all of the way.
“We know what he is capable of doing, he just needs to keep doing it.
“But everyone needs to pop up with goals. It can’t just be the attackers, the midfielders need to chip in too.”
Fan Comments