Toxicity and uncertainty await Man City – will their season even matter?

Manchester City visit Liverpool on Sunday with a lot of uncertainty hanging over them. Phil McNulty looks at what lies ahead. Manchester City will be guaranteed a hostile reception when they face Liverpool at Anfield after being found guilty of breaching financial rules Manchester City will face an atmosphere of toxicity and hostility they have never experienced before when they walk out to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. If City made a list of clubs they would prefer not to visit immediately after being found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18, Liverpool would be at the top ringed in red.

The relationship between the clubs has often been fractious for more than a decade, tensions fuelled by a sense of injustice felt by Liverpool fans who believe more Premier League titles should have been theirs instead of City's. In 2013/14, 2018/19 and 2021/22, Liverpool finished second behind City – on the last two occasions by a single point – in what became, especially with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp in charge, the defining domestic rivalry in recent years. Liverpool supporters have long been convinced they would have won those titles had City not wielded the vast financial firepower that brought them under investigation, while those of a sky blue