'Be hostile' - Viral Liverpool tweet urges 'horrible' Man City welcome
Manchester City take on Liverpool on Sunday at Anfield, in a contest which could spell the end of their Premier League title hopes.
A viral tweet is urging Liverpool fans to 'make the streets red' around Anfield to ensure a hostile arrival for Manchester City's team coach.
City are desperately out of form and head to Anfield with their title chances on the line, according to manager Pep Guardiola and Ilkay Gundogan. They have lost five and drawn one of their last six games stretching back a month, including three defeats in their last three Premier League games.
Recent trips to Liverpool have seen off-field issues overshadow the football, including incidents involving City's team bus arriving and leaving Anfield. City fans have also been reported for poor behaviour in the away end, while clashes at the Etihad have also seen unsavoury incidents between the fanbases.
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Both clubs and the authorities will be hoping to avoid a repeat of those negative headlines, with City focussed on addressing their slump in form and Liverpool riding high after beating Real Madrid this week.
In the build-up to the showdown, some Liverpool fans are hoping to recreate previous iconic scenes where they have gathered outside Anfield before the game to try and intimidate the City coach as it arrives at the stadium.
A viral social media post, which has been shared hundreds of times and seen by 500,000 people, has asked Liverpool fans to 'bring flares, pyros and smoke grenades' to Anfield Road, and 'cover other routes too'. Last season, a similar attempt to 'greet' the Blues bus was thwarted when City took an alternative road towards Anfield and entered using a back entrance.
The post continues, saying: 'Make it as horrible as we can for City and get behind the lads in a chance to go 11pts clear of them.' It finishes: "Be hostile, be loud."
In 2018, Liverpool fans threw projectiles at the City bus ahead of their Champions League quarter-final at Anfield, smashing windows and the driver's door. Last year, City 'strongly condemned' those responsible for damage to the Liverpool coach when it left the Etihad in April.
However, the pre-match rivalry will be put to one side when supporters' groups of both clubs come together for a Football Supporters' Association campaign. City fans, standing alongside the Spirit of Shankly group, will hold up a '#StopExploitingLoyalty' banner at the corner of The Kop and Kenny Dalglish stands at 3pm. Blues fans took part in a similar protest before the recent home game against Southampton.
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