Gakpo shares Liverpool dressing room's stance on City test

Cody Gakpo has warned Manchester City that Liverpool are ready to show the Premier League champions “what we are made of.”

Arne Slot’s team lead Pep Guardiola’s side by eight points at the top of the table after a dozen games, meaning Sunday’s huge clash at Anfield will have major title repercussions.

And with Liverpool buoyed further by an impressive 2-0 win against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, Dutchman Gakpo says the Reds are in a confident mood ahead of their showdown with City.

“It is a massive opportunity, I think against a very good team, one of the best teams in Europe actually (who have been) dominating a lot of games in recent years," he said. “But this is a massive chance for us to show them what we are made of and that’s what we are planning to do.

“Obviously we are in a good position, you cannot deny that. But I think it’s still early in the season so we are not really looking at the table yet. Obviously we are aware of the situation but we have to keep winning the games to stay on top.

“That’s what we are training for, working hard for, staying calm for as well, and I think that is also a strength of our team: that we are not really getting dragged away in the situation, but we really are focused on the next game ahead and that will be the case now as well.

“I think that is very helpful, also because we have a lot of young players as well. The more experienced players in the team also help us: the players that won already a lot of things, they know how to act in these sort of situations. They help us as well and it’s only good for us.”

Gakpo scored Liverpool’s second in Real having come off the bench in midweek, his fifth time finding the net in six matches. But he continues to battle for a starting spot with Luis Diaz, who started the season in red-hot form.

Diaz has been in and out of Slot's starting XI in recent weeks, though, and there is healthy competition for places in a forward line which has been firing on all cylinders so far this term.

Speaking to liverpoolfc.com, Gakpo added: “It was a good game, a big result, so very happy with the start but the week is not over yet so we have to keep going."