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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Pep Guardiola is far from a stranger to gargantuan fixtures but the trip to Anfield this weekend has thrown up a set of difficult circumstances.

The legendary manager has won consecutive league titles in Germany, England and Spain and has even dethroned some of the greats like Sir Alex Ferguson.

Just a few years after his playing career had finished, the Spaniard battled with Ferguson in two Champions League finals and tika-taka’d his way past a legendary Manchester United side on both occasions. These famous wins allowed Guardiola to secure a treble in 2009 and received the label as “the best team ever” in 2011 from his nemesis.

All of this came before he even had a chance to dwell on the fact he had just turned 40. Now, eight years on and after an unthinkably spectacular 198 points from two seasons, Guardiola now faces arguably his biggest individual test since arriving in Manchester.

This Liverpool side may indeed be the best team the 48-year-old has faced down the years, especially as the clash is at the formidable dome that is Anfield. Most seasons at Barcelona, Real Madrid struggled to get near Guardiola’s dominant side, conceding just one league title to them in four years. Then, in Germany, he comfortably bagged seven major trophies for Bayern Munich without breaking a sweat.

Now, against Jurgen Klopp, Guardiola finally faces a test he does not often see, as he chases a team and must win to perhaps avoid failure. Liverpool are arguably in the best shape they have been in during the Premier League era, having bagged 97 points and a Champions League title last season.

Defensively, Liverpool beat City right now by conceding one less goal, whilst the Reds’ front three is arguably the best in Europe.

But even with Liverpool’s imperious and relentless form in mind City would normally be fancied to come away with three points. The fact Ederson has been ruled out of the clash, however, seems to have swung the pendulum towards Merseyside.

Down the years, despite his unrivalled success across three countries, Guardiola has taken charge of teams already set to dominate. Now, this Liverpool side certainly has the capabilities to surpass what the former Barcelona man has done at City.

Guardiola is not familiar with witnessing a side get so close to him and perhaps be even better than his squad.

Should he beat Liverpool at Anfield, it will have to go down as one of his best ever victories.

Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher has insisted that Mauricio Pochettino will be back in the Premier League “sooner rather than later”.On Tuesday night, it was announced that Tottenham Hotspur had sacked Pochettino as head coach with immediate effect.The Argentine had been in charge of the London club since 2014, and heÂleaves with a win record of just over 54% from 293 matches at the helm.Perhaps his finest achievement was leading Spurs to last season’s Champions League final, where they actually played well in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.For now, Pochettino is without a job.However, Carragher has insisted that the “brilliant manager” will not be out of the English game for too long.That said, the pundit has also claimed that he felt a change was coming due to the fact that the “project” at the club “had run its course”.It will be fascinating to see Pochettino’s next move.Carragher’s reaction in the aftermath of the announcement can be seen below…

July 23 2004. A date that will no doubt be familiar to long-term Everton fans who saw Tim Cahill complete his move to Goodison Park for a reported fee of just £2m.

The Australian arrived on Merseyside on the back of a fine few years at Championship side Millwall, scoring 57 goals in 249 total games for the club.

But even the most ardent of Everton fans may not have seen Cahill go on to become one of the club’s greatest players in recent history, and establish himself as a real icon.

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The man signed by David Moyes played 276 matches for the Toffees, finding the back of the net 68 times and providing a further 29 assists. His goal record actually puts him third on the all-time list for top-scorers at Goodison Park, only behind Graeme Sharp who notched 74, and Romelu Lukaku who bagged 87.

It’s a real testament to Cahill and his abilities that he achieved that number despite playing in midfield, and it’s why Moyes really deserves more credit for bringing him to the club in the first place.

In today’s money, he would have cost just £3.09m, which when you think about the crazy world of transfer fees we live in at the moment, just seems like an absolute bargain.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

This wasn’t a player who was banging the goals in left, right and centre in the Premier League, and attracting big attention and spotlight. He was doing it in the division below, and it was a credit to Moyes that he placed his faith in him and developed him into an elite goal-scoring midfielder at the top-flight level.

Cahill was a major reason behind Everton always looking to compete for those Europa League and Champions League spots whilst Moyes was in charge, and the 2004 move for him really defined the brilliance of the former Toffees manager.

Meanwhile, Everton must be ruthless about this loanee once lauded by Martinez.

In the early noughties, Leeds United were a phenomenal spectacle and how they never won a trophy given the array of talent on display is beyond belief.

Incredibly entertaining to watch, with the likes of Kewell, Smith, Viduka, Dacourt and Woodgate were just some of the shining lights during this time.

For a club who started the century on the ascendency, the wheels were to fall off quite spectacularly as poor management at the very top saw a breakup of this great team and inevitable relegation that has seen the Whites out of the top flight ever since.

So how much do you remember of that last season in the Premier League? We have compiled a quiz to test your knowledge and to see if you know your Eirik Bakke from your Didier Domi…

After joining from Blackburn Rovers all those years ago, Phil Jones has really struggled to live up to the hype that surrounded his early rise at Ewood Park.

This was a player who enjoyed a superb debut coming up against then Chelsea striker Didier Drogba back in 2010, and Manchester United no doubt thought they were getting someone to really build their team around.

Instead, form and fitness have completely deserted him, and he’s made just 224 appearances in total, in almost a decade worth of time at Old Trafford.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier Legue records true or false?

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And now, his teammates are ribbing him too. In a Q&A session wih SPORTbible (via The Metro), Paul Pogba trolled Jones by claiming that the centre-back is the most likely player to score a bizarre own-goal.

After hearing the Frenchman’s dig, United fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on what the midfielder had to say.

A couple of fans however seemed rather unimpressed with what Pogba had to say, with one supporter calling him “very unprofessional” and another raising his eyebrows at why the Frenchman felt the need to answer the question in the first place.

Pogba and United fans may not have the most strongest of relationships, but this is clearly one of those times where they’re in agreement.

The Frenchman’s hilarious dig at Jones was no doubt all in jest, and at a time like this, being able to laugh and smile is something we should all treasure.

Jones may be the only one not seeing the funny side of it.

Meanwhile, Man Utd would be making a foolish mistake by snubbing this star.

According to The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder, there have been “no red flags” in the Premier League’s owner’s and director’s tests so far amid Newcastle’s proposed takeover.

What did he say?

Reports in recent days and weeks had suggested that there could be some cause for concern over a piracy row with BeIN Sports threatening to derail the takeover.

However, Ryder has now claimed that particular issue has not developed into anything serious, and that the ball remains firmly in the Premier League’s court in whether things go through.

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He said: “Despite fresh suggestions that the consortium, led by Amanda Staveley, which also contains the Reuben brothers and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is threatened by a piracy row with BeIN sports, it is understood there have been no red flags in the top-flight’s owner’s and director’s test so far.

“The situation was still firmly in the hands of the Premier League at the close of play on Friday ahead of another weekend of lockdown. There’s no doubt that the restrictions – which require video meetings to discuss even the smallest detail – have played a part in slowing the conclusion of the takeover down.

“However, there is patience from the would-be owners too as the reality is the process may not have reached this stage had Mike Ashley not been prepared to take a lower offer for the club he bought in 2007.”

Delays

As with anything that holds this kind of magnitude, there are bound to be delays and hurdles to overcome – and this latest piracy concern involving BeIN Sports appears to be the latest one.

The Premier League are inclined to do their due diligence and ensure no stone is left unturned, so if that means the Newcastle takeover gets pushed back by a few days or even weeks, then that is what will happen.

But rather promisingly, Ryder’s suggestion that the club’s prospect owners have “patience” is a good sign that they are in it for the long haul and aren’t about to back out at the last minute.

Meanwhile, Newcastle fans have slammed this former star’s comments about the club.

Leeds United may not be able to complete the Championship season despite their desire to get it back underway.The Athletic’s Phil Hay has provided a fresh claim on the latest situation. He claims that it’s very much “up in the air” with many teams believing it won’t be possible to resume the current campaign.He also sheds light into the question marks surrounding promotion and suggests that all sensible points-per-game standings have the west Yorkshiremen going up via one of the two automatic spots.Hay tweeted:

Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently top the table with a seven-point advantage to the playoff positions and given there are only nine games remaining, it’s fair to suggest that they would normally only have themselves standing in the way of a Premier League place.

Plenty of fans at Elland Road have waited 16 years for top-flight football, so deny them that after an impressive campaign would ultimately be unjust.

A true test for any Leeds fan: Can you match these iconic images with the right results?

But only time will tell on the Championship’s immediate future.

AND in other news,ÂLeeds fans TORN over former star who left in the summer…

The good news for Liverpool is that the Premier League will return on June 17.

On Thursday, it was confirmed that the English top flight will restart next month after it was deemed safe enough to finish the end of the campaign. The Reds are 25 points clear at the top of the division and are just two wins and six points away from winning their first league title in 30 years.

However, the bad news is that the Merseyside outfit may not be allowed to play their home matches at Anfield. No fans will be allowed in any stadium anyway but the authorities believe that, given the situation, many Reds fans could congregate outside the ground as they look to push their team to victory.

This has not gone down well with some Liverpool fans at all – it seems that they are unhappy that they could be the only ones to be forced to play under such conditions. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

Liverpool fans, is it fair that the Reds might not be allowed to play at Anfield in some upcoming home games? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Manchester United are plotting a move for a cheaper alternative to Jadon Sancho, according to the Daily Mail. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to add a midfielder to his squad before the start of next season, with the Red Devils linked to the likes of Sancho and Jack Grealish. However, the Daily Mail claimed that United are now considering a bid for Bayer Leverkusen star Leon Bailey.

Solskjaer has indicated that he wants to improve his options on the right flank and the club have also been monitoring Argentine winger Thiago Almada and Welsh youngsters David Brooks and Rabbi Matondo in the event that they cannot sign Sancho in the summer.

Ed Woodward has previously warned that it may not be “business as usual” for United in the next transfer window, with the club reeling from the financial repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bailey, who is currently valued at £40m by Bayer Leverkusen, would be significantly cheaper than Sancho and Grealish.

Borussia Dortmund value their 20-year-old winger at £89m and the Bundesliga giants are unwilling to change their minds, despite the economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, Aston Villa will reportedly demand £80m for Grealish as they view their prized asset as being on the same level as Harry Maguire.

Bailey, who can play on the left or right of the midfield, has played 19 games in the Bundesliga this season, scoring five goals, supplying two assists, taking 1.4 shots per game, averaging under one key pass and completing 1.5 dribbles per game on average (WhoScored).

It is worth pointing out that he has received a lower WhoScored rating than both of his English counterparts for his performances so far.

Moreover, Sancho is Dortmund’s top scorer this term and a failure to sign the England international would be a bitter blow for Solskjaer. Indeed, the Norwegian has been chasing the winger for a number of months (Daily Mail). Furthermore, the club legend missed out on signing Erling Braut Haaland last year.

Although Sancho is still a top priority, it seems the board are reluctant to take any risks and are lining up a list of possible replacements if negotiations with Dortmund falter.

United fans, do you think the board should sign Leon Bailey instead of Jadon Sancho? Let us know in the comments below!