sport news How Liverpool vs Man City became English football's most TOXIC rivalry: Bad ... trends now
On the pitch, Liverpool versus Manchester City has come to represent the pinnacle of the Premier League and English football.
Two teams devoted to their eye-catching, attacking styles going hell for leather to win the top domestic and European prizes, led by inspirational managers in Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
But off the field, this rivalry has turned toxic, with a growing list of fan incidents distracting from the high quality football on display.
In recent years, we've seen team buses attacked with stones and bottles, shameful mocking of Hillsborough victims and a 15-year-old girl left 'scarred for life' after being stuck by a thrown projectile inside the stadium.
It explains why this Sunday's clash at Anfield will kick-off at the unusual time of 3.45pm following a request from Merseyside Police.
Meeting between Manchester City and Liverpool are the most anticipated in English football
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have a healthy respect towards one another in the rivalry
But there have been various flashpoints off the pitch, with Liverpool fans attacking City's team bus when the sides met in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2018
Just to stoke the fires ahead of what is a critical game in the Premier League title race - with leaders Liverpool a point clear of second-placed City - the players have been trading barbs this week.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold used an interview with FourFourTwo magazine to argue that his club's trophies 'will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs financially.'
He added: 'How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we've done it, probably means more to our fans. It's tough.
'We're up against a machine that's built to win - that's the simplest way to describe City and their organisation.'
In response, City's super-prolific striker Erling Haaland, whose 52 goals helped them to a Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season, said: 'I've been here one year and I've won the Treble and it was quite a nice feeling. I don't think he knows exactly this feeling.'
Ruben Dias has also entered the pre-match war of words, saying Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool can 'only have certain emotions if you actually win stuff.
'A Treble is a feeling you can only know how it feels when you actually do it.'
The real bad blood has come away from the pitch, however.
The City team bus was hit by stones as it made its way towards Anfield in April 2018
The bus received a similar reception from Liverpool fans ahead of a match in November 2019
Liverpool condemned the behaviour of their supporters following the attack in April 2018
The first major flashpoints in the modern chapters of the rivalry came in April 2018 when they met in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Before the first leg at Anfield, City's team coach was pelted with bricks, flares and all manner of other missiles as it approached the stadium.
The front windscreen and drivers' door were damaged and the vehicle rendered unroadworthy to make the return journey to Manchester.
While Liverpool received a €20,000 fine from UEFA, there was no punishment for the perpetrators from Merseyside Police, something City felt 'let down' by.
The psychological impact of the attack on City's players is unknown but they found themselves three-down after half-an-hour and went on to lose the tie 5-1 on aggregate.
In October 2021, not long after fans had been readmitted to stadiums after Covid, City made an official complaint that members of their coaching staff were spat at during a lively 2-2 draw.
City captured an image of the fan under suspicion near their bench and Liverpool launched an investigation which involved taking statements from supporters nearby and reviewing video footage.
In October 2022, City fans were accused of leaving offensive graffiti at Anfield and chanting about the
