Anfield hoodoo haunts Man City in top-of-table clash

LIVERPOOL  — Billions of pounds of investment from Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners over the past decade has reaped three Premier League titles and transformed the blue half of Manchester from “noisy neighbours” into the dominant side in the city.

However, the Premier League champions travel to Liverpool on Sunday, hoping to finally achieve something that has so far been beyond City’s cash-rich era — a win at Anfield.

City were last victorious at Anfield in 2003 and have lost 12 of their last 17 visits.

The most recent of those saw City’s Champions League dreams ended for another year in the cauldron of a European night on Merseyside with a 3-0 quarter-final first leg defeat.

A coach not accustomed to losing, City boss Pep Guardiola has been defeated on all three of his visits to Anfield and in Jurgen Klopp faces one of the few managers who can boast a winning record against the Catalan.

Just seven games into the Premier League season, no knockout blow can be landed this weekend.

But with both sides only separated by City’s superior goal difference at the top of the table having dropped just two points each so far this season, the clash will go a long way to telling if Liverpool are capable of knocking Guardiola’s men off their perch.

“It’s very tough, probably the toughest away game of the season in the Premier League,” admitted City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who worked under Klopp for four years at Borussia Dortmund.

While City are seeking to consolidate themselves as the dominant force in English football by becoming the first side in a decade to retain the title, Klopp’s task is to end Liverpool’s near three-decade wait to win the league.

When Kenny Dalglish led the Reds to an 18th league title in 1989-90, Liverpool were streets ahead as England’s most successful club.

The intervening years have seen Manchester United storm ahead. But with United already nine points adrift and Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea also playing catch-up, Liverpool know beating City is the key to ending that long wait.

Liverpool were the biggest spenders in this summer’s transfer market in a declaration of intent to win the title.