Saturday 31 December 2016 11:21, UK
Pep Guardiola has called Jurgen Klopp's attacking tactics as the best in the world and agrees his brand of football is "heavy metal".
The Manchester City boss paid a glowing tribute to his former Bundesliga nemesis ahead of Saturday's Premier League showdown at Anfield.
The managerial pair have won league titles in Germany and after eight meetings between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the final score was four apiece. Having witnessed Liverpool's 4-1 demolition of Stoke in midweek, Guardiola was full of praise for the Reds.
"Our styles are not similar but I like a lot the way they play," the Spaniard said. "Maybe Klopp is the best manager in the world at creating teams who attack the back four with so many players, from almost anywhere on the pitch.
"They have an intensity with the ball and without the ball, and it is not easy to do that. They attack wide sometimes with [Nathaniel] Clyne and [James] Milner but they especially like to attack from inside, through the middle.
"I don't think there is another team in the world attacking in this way with so many players capable of launching moves in an instant."
Guardiola will be desperate for his side to deliver in front of their visiting fans. They will start the game in third spot, one point behind their second-placed opponents and seven points behind leaders Chelsea.
He will be carefully plotting how to get one over his former adversary and admitted he had learned a lot when Bayern first came up against Klopp's Borussia Dortmund.
"I was new and it was 'wow', what a good lesson," Guardiola added. "We lost 4-2. Afterwards in the league I learned a bit more about how to control those situations but it was never easy.
"When Klopp speaks about his football being heavy metal, I understand completely. It is so aggressive. For the fans it is really good.
"Our styles are not similar but I like a lot the way they play, for the spectators, because in three or four seconds they are attacking."
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