Reasons to be Cheerful, ahead of Man City Clash

Liverpool are getting into shape again

I didn’t much care for Kevin de Bruyne's suggestion that Man City simply play better, more controlled football than the ‘up and down’ nature of Liverpool, as he called it.

So, no correlation with the extra £400m their squad cost (adjusted for inflation), the bigger wage bill (their best player earns 3x what Liverpool's best player gets), and that, on average, they field a 35% more expensive £XI each week. (Plus, City don’t tend to take the season as late as Liverpool, what with the Reds’ three Champions League finals in recent seasons.)

It’s always easy to say that you’re just a better team when you spend a ton more money, and that money isn’t always apparently legally generated, or at least in keeping with market value.

Is he similarly surprised when his Ferrari 488 burns a Fiat 500 at the lights, and it shows that, actually, he’s just a much better driver, and the Fiat is a bit ‘up and down’?

Anyway, there are reasons to be optimistic as a Red this week, which hasn’t always been the case this season.