Klopp vs Guardiola head-to-head: Who has the upper hand ahead of title showdown?

The headline fixture of not only the Premier League weekend, but the English top-flight season to date, is  set to play out on Sunday evening.

The clash in question will see Manchester City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad for what has been widely labelled as a 'title decider', despite a full seven gameweeks to follow ahead of the campaign's conclusion late next month.

As things stand, it is champions City who boast the slenderest of advantages, sitting a point clear of Liverpool at the division's summit.

This weekend's visitors to Manchester, though, represent arguably the most in-form outfit in Europe at present, having made it 17 wins from their last 18 across all competitions in putting Benfica to the sword in the Champions League during the week.

So, what will ultimately prove the deciding factor in an Etihad showpiece set to have the eyes of the football world firmly fixated on its exchanges in less than 24 hours' time?

Set to play as central a role as any other in the eventual outcome in Manchester, of course, will be managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

The Spaniard and German are widely regarded as two of Europe's finest tacticians of the last decade, with the most minor of tweaks on the part of one to throw off their opposite number potentially set to prove decisive this weekend.

In turn, ahead of Sunday's fast-approaching top-of-the-table showdown, we at 101 have today delved into the head-to-head record between Klopp and Guardiola, across their managerial careers to date.

German record

The first country in which Klopp and Guardiola were forced to test their talents against one another on a consistent basis was of course Germany.

With the former at the helm at Borussia Dortmund, and City's current headmaster overseeing proceedings at perennial champions Bayern Munich, the following results were forthcoming across eight meetings between the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and DFB Super Cup.

English record

Since Klopp opted to take his talents to England, before Guardiola followed suit a year later, meanwhile, the two touchline icons have locked horns on a further 12 occasions in domestic competition.

Such fixtures have been played across the Premier League (11) and Community Shield (1).

Champions League

The final two meetings to have played out in what is quickly developing into one of the most memorable managerial rivalries in recent football memory took place on the continent, in the Champions League.

And it was Jurgen Klopp who proved the dominant force, emerging triumphant from both quarter-final clashes during the 2017/18 campaign.

So, what does all of the data above tell us when it comes to the overall head-to-head record between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp?

Remarkably, across a full 22 fixtures in all competitions, the pair cannot be separated, posting a record of nine wins each, to go along with four draws.

A perfect platform for one to finally assert their dominance this weekend, then, in guiding either Manchester City or Liverpool to all three points, and, even more importantly, another step closer to the Premier League title.

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