Pep Guardiola has backed his players to perform on the pitch after refusing to get drawn into their war of words with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Liverpool defender has added spice to this weekend’s crunch Premier League title clash against Guardiola’s City by claiming that winning trophies means more to the Merseyside club.

City players Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias hit back by pointing out Alexander-Arnold has not won the treble – therefore suggesting he could not know how the Manchester club feel – but Guardiola does not want to add fuel to the fire. Instead, he will simply encourage the champions to do their talking on the pitch in an encounter that could have a huge bearing on the destiny of the Premier League title.

There is a deep respect between Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola.

The City manager said: “I’m so happy with my players, all the time, over many, many years. Do you think we’re not going to fight because Erling and Ruben talk? Without these talks we will not fight? We are there and, after what happened over the last years, we are going to try again tomorrow and do a good game.

“They defend the club not by responding to this guy but what they have done for many years on the pitch every three days. That is the best way. I could answer him (Alexander-Arnold), but why? It is what it is. I’m incredibly proud of what we have done and I don’t need that to prove to me what my players really feel and are trying to do it.”

Guardiola was asked further about Alexander-Arnold’s comments as he held his pre-match press conference on Friday but simply wished the England international well. Alexander-Arnold has been sidelined with a knee injury for the past month and is not expected to feature on Sunday. He said: “I wish him well. I wish him a speedy recovery and to come back to the pitch as soon as possible.”

From a Liverpool perspective, their manager Jurgen Klopp has defended Alexander-Arnold’s right to claim it would “mean more” for Liverpool to win their title battle with Manchester City. The German appeared perplexed that Alexander-Arnold’s comments could be perceived as inflammatory and said: “I am not sure how often in this club that we have to say how much we respect City. Trent respects that but he is born in Liverpool, he stood on the bins (as a child, watching training). What would you think in that situation?

Trent Alexander-Arnold won't be playing on Sunday - but he has already made a big pre-match impact.

“One of our slogans, that I love, is “this means more.” It means more to us. This club is special to us. So if we feel it, why shouldn’t be allowed to say it?’. You love these kind of interviews where somebody says what he thinks and the whole world tells you it’s not right, what you think.

“It’s just how he feels, how we feel, and I have absolutely no problem about that. I am pretty sure he showed total respect (to City) as well. In the last decade, Man City is the most successful team in English football and maybe Europe. It’s a ridiculous record they have. It means a lot for their people I am sure. Maybe it’s just for the fact we didn’t win that many. We are not in situation winning five league titles in a row and realising number five was better, we’ve never had that situation so we don’t know 100 per cent, but that’s it.”

The match renews one of the great managerial rivalries of recent times as Guardiola comes up against Klopp, but what will be their 30th meeting could be the last for some time. Klopp is standing down at Anfield at the end of the season and Guardiola has acknowledged the role the German has played in driving him on. The Spaniard said: “From the way he makes his teams play football, you always learn. It was always a pleasure to play against him and it will be on Sunday too.”

Guardiola is not sure it will be the last time the pair face each other but, regardless, hopes they can meet socially at some stage in the future. Guardiola has a rare losing record against Klopp, with 12 defeats and 11 victories against the Reds boss and added: “We might play in the FA Cup and, the future, nobody knows. He’s young, I’m young, so I don’t know. Sometimes (we meet) in the corridor before press conferences but when we were honoured in the Hall of Fame years ago we spent time with families but, in terms of lunch or dinners, it never happened. We have to decide who pays, that’s why we didn’t do it! I think it’s going to happen sooner or later, I would love it but we’ll see.”

League leaders Liverpool are a point clear of second-placed Man City and Sunday’s match, which kicks off at 3.30pm live on Sky Sports, is undoubtedly the game of the weekend. Third-placed Arsenal are at home to Brentford in the tea-time Saturday match, while fourth hosts fifth on Sunday at 1pm when Aston Villa play Tottenham Hotspur. Saturday’s other fixtures are Man Utd v Everton, Crystal Palace v Luton, Bournemouth v Sheffield and Wolves v Fulham. West Ham v Burnley and Brighton v Nottingham Forest are the other Sunday matches, with the card concluding on Monday night when Chelsea host Newcastle.

Liverpool-Man City war of words doesn't faze Guardiola or Klopp - it's about who pays for dinner