Police request impacts scheduling of Liverpool and Manchester City fixture

Manchester City’s Premier League clash with title rivals Liverpool next month has been impact at the request of Merseyside Police, a new report has revealed.

Pep Guardiola and his players moved to within just two points of Jurgen Klopp’s men on Monday night, capitalising on the Merseyside club’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal with a 1-3 win of their own in London.

Despite falling behind to Neal Maupay’s opener for Brentford, a Phil Foden hat-trick constructed either side of the half-time interval put the reigning Champions into a hugely promising position in the title race with a game in hand.

As such there are shaping up to be a number of huge contests in the fixture list for clubs involved in the title race, and none more so than Manchester City’s trip to face Liverpool in early March.

However, following confirmed details of the scheduling of the contest, it has since been revealed that the clash was altered at the request of policing bodies concerned over safety and potential trouble between supporters.

That is according to the information of The Athletic’s James Pearce, who reports that the kick-off time for the clash between Liverpool and Manchester City in March was brought forward following a request from Merseyside Police.

As per confirmation on Monday afternoon, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s final battle in the Premier League will now take place on Sunday, March 10 at 3:45pm GMT at Anfield, broadcast live to viewers in the UK on Sky Sports.

It is reported that Merseyside Police wanted an earlier kick-off as a result of issues between the two clubs in recent seasons, whilst the Manchester derby earlier this campaign was similarly brought forward due to policing concerns.

Manchester City have plenty of action to focus on between now and then however, with clashes in the Premier League, FA Cup fifth round, and UEFA Champions League last-16 plugging the gap until the date at Anfield.

City take on Liverpool’s local rivals Everton in the Premier League this weekend in a Saturday lunchtime slot, before making a journey to Denmark to take on FC Copenhagen in the first-leg of their aforementioned European tie.

Meetings with Chelsea and Brentford at home, as well as trips south to take on Bournemouth and Luton close out the month of February, which could have enormous implications on Manchester City’s silverware hopes this season.