Bernardo Silva admits Manchester City are coming up against a better Liverpool side than the one that beat them three times last season.
The joint-Premier League leaders meet for the first time this term having both registered six wins and one draw to begin the campaign.
Liverpool emerged as City’s kryptonite back in January as they became the first team to beat the eventual 2017/2018 champions with a 4-3 win at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s men proceeded to blow City away in both legs of their Champions League quarter-final clash, with Pep Guardiola struggling to find an answer for the Reds’ front three.
Silva believes Liverpool now represent an even tougher test after leading the spending during the summer transfer window.
He told Sky Sports: “They bought a few players. I think they’re better this season, as the results tell. They’ve won all their games in the Premier League apart from one.”
“They’re an aggressive team, they’re doing well. We beat them at home last season but at Anfield we weren’t able to play well enough to beat them. They were better than us, in my opinion.”
“But we’ll try again, knowing that they have a very good squad but we will go with 100 per cent, so we can try to get the three points.”
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Liverpool’s intensity in the victory back in January proved catalytic as City conceded three second-half goals in the space of nine minutes.
It marked the perfect advert for the Premier League, with two of Europe’s deadliest attacking outfits displaying the bravery to go toe-to-toe.
Though that game held no title implications for the Reds, a newly-boosted squad and vast defensive improvement has now foregrounded Klopp’s men as serious contenders.
Sunday’s clash promises to be valuable insight into where both teams stand in this fight for the no.1 spot.