Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, with City top of the Premier League on 15 points and Liverpool sixth on nine.
It is also the first meeting between two managers in their first season in charge. Andoni Iraola replaced Arne Slot at Liverpool, while Enzo Maresca succeeded Pep Guardiola at City.
Both were nominated for September’s Manager of the Month award. Man City have won the last three meetings by a combined 9-1.
However, the fixture carries extra intensity following the independent commission’s verdict on City’s financial charges and the club’s subsequent appeal.
Liverpool remain unbeaten this season but have yet to fully click in attack. Iraola’s high-pressing style is still settling in, while injuries have also affected his squad. Defensively, however, Liverpool appear to have found greater balance.
Meanwhile, academy director Alex Inglethorpe and his staff oversee the development of Liverpool’s young players, ensuring alignment between the academy and first team.
The academy is just 300 metres from the first-team pitch at Kirkby, although the journey from academy prospect to first-team player can take years.
Under Iraola, academy graduates Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni, Lewis Koumas and James McConnell have all featured this season.
At the Kirkby academy, players hand in their phones each morning, while their contracts include a limit on the maximum engine size of cars driven onto the premises.
“It comes back to passing your audition. First impressions matter,” says Inglethorpe. “Often before you’ve kicked a ball, the car you drive or the watch you wear can have an impact on how you’re thought of – and that could be first team staff or players looking at you. We’ve believed in the idea of ‘earning the right’ for some time.”
Liverpool’s academy is widely regarded as one of the best in the country and has nurtured the careers of Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and, more recently, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones who joined Inter Milan last summer.
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