Jurgen Klopp will be keen to bank all three points against Pep Guardiola’s defending champions as he attempts to claim the title once more in his final season on Merseyside.

Guardiola, however, will be keen to spoil the party and claim a victory over Klopp’s league leaders, who could be leapfrogged by Arsenal if Mikel Arteta’s Gunners shoot down Brentford at Emirates Stadium on Saturday night.

Here, Vodacom Soccer takes a look at five key battles which will be on display in the mouth-watering Anfield showdown.

Jurgen Klopp vs Pep Guardiola

The two greatest tactical minds of the Premier League in recent history come together for the final time in this division - so what can we expect from the managers?

We can anticipate that both will come to play their own game and try and assert tactical dominance from the beginning. Neither team will be looking to sit back and hold out as both sides need a win and will do what they must to get the three points.

Man City will likely try and dominate the ball with a possession game, limiting the chances of Liverpool as they look to maintain the ball.

Liverpool can counter this style with a well-drilled press from the front as they put pressure on the Man City players and look to pounce on any heavy touches or poor passes.

City have the quality of players to work around this press and if they manage to do so, it could create huge chances for them to find players in space and score goals.

However, Liverpool have such quality up front and in midfield to press effectively. They could win the ball and even if they don’t, the defensive stability of Liverpool is frightening, and the Man City forwards will have a tough time.

Battle of midfield

The midfield battle between Liverpool and Man City is one for the ages, as Liverpool boasts a younger and slightly less conventional midfield three whereas Man City have some of the most renowned midfielders in world football with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva.

Liverpool do, however, have the likes of Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, who are the likely three to take up the midfield positions as Thiago Alcântara remains injured and out of the squad.

Despite these three not being the biggest of names, their chemistry and ability to work well together is fascinating, with all three able to perform well in a multitude of positions.

Szoboszlai tends to take a more attacking role whereas Mac Allister can be seen more in a defensive position. This leaves Endo who can float between the two players and provide a rotation with either of them depending on the match scenario.

Man City opt for a more attacking midfield with a typical 4-2-3-1 formation compared to Liverpool’s 4-3-3 formation.

Man City use the likes of Rodri (Rodrigo) and De Bruyne to sit in more which leaves Silva and Phil Foden to play on the wing and Julian Alvarez to sit behind the main striker in Erling Haaland.

Despite De Bruyne sitting in a holding position, he often takes up a more attacking role which can lead to an overload in the midfield, giving the advantage the way of Man City and adding to the already dynamic attacking line-up.

Erling Haaland vs Virgil van Dijk

The best striker in the Premier League coming face-to-face with the best centre-back in the Premier League leads to an inevitable conclusion of a truly brilliant match-up between these two.

Haaland’s exceptional finishing is what sets him apart from other strikers in the Premier League, with his ability to find space in areas others wouldn’t and exploit it.

Virgil van Dijk will have to be aware of the striker’s movement and try to ensure he doesn’t get in the spaces to take advantage of the Liverpool defence.

Not only is it Haaland that Van Dijk will have to worry about, but it’s the entire City frontline who are all dangerous, which is what benefits Haaland so much. Defenders can’t concentrate on one player because there are threats all across the pitch which leaves gaps at the back.

Because of this, Van Dijk will need to be able to keep his backline in order and ensure everyone is working together to try to keep compact when City attack.

Many of Haaland’s strengths will be matched by Van Dijk such as his aerial ability and his pace.

Both players will need to draw on all their experience and ability to try and outdo the other, but this will certainly be an interesting match-up.

Mo Salah vs Nathan Ake

With Man City without a permanent left-back, Nathan Ake tends to take on the left-back role in the City defence but this position can be shared between himself, Josko Gvardiol or Manuel Akanji.

With Ake’s recent performances and the fact that Gvardiol is only just returning from injury, we can assume Ake will be the starter.

The defender has a huge task on his hands as he will be facing one of the best wingers in Premier League history, Mohamed Salah. The tricky Egyptian will inevitably play a massive role in the match and is well-known for being a “big-game player”.

Ake will be under significant pressure to keep Salah under wraps and due to Salah’s undeniable ability, we can assume the ball will be going down his side of the pitch frequently.

Ake isn’t someone classed as an experienced full-back and would more likely take on a centre-half role which will play into the hands of Salah, who can exploit his weaknesses to take control of that side of the pitch.

Salah’s turn of pace and trickery on the ball are two key areas Ake will have to keep an eye on.

Darwin Nunez vs John Stones and Ruben Dias

Darwin Nunez is a fans’ favourite at Liverpool, and he can improve his reputation if he plays well against Man City.

However, he will have the defensive duo of John Stones and Ruben Dias in his way - with the duo hoping to keep the goals out and Liverpool chances to a minimum.

Nunez is a player who can really scare teams but has been known to threaten without an end product - this can make the player even worse to play against as you get drawn into a false sense of security.

However, Stones and Dias have one of the most defensively-solid partnerships around and the likelihood of a loss of concentration on their behalf is minimal.

Stones and Diaz have a plethora of experience playing at the very highest level in professional football to combat Liverpool’s attack and nullify the pace and movement of Nunez.

Nunez’s pace is one of his strongest attributes which will be incredibly helpful when pressing the two Man City centre-backs.

The ability of Nunez will be put to the greatest of tests this weekend, along with the rest of the players on the pitch, as two Premier League heavyweights go toe to toe.

READ MORE: Man City boss Pep Guardiola avoids engaging in war of words with Liverpool

Premier League title race: Liverpool vs Manchester City - five key battles