The top two sides in the Premier League meet at Anfield on Sunday in what is likely to be a crunch clash in terms of the destination of the title

Kevin De Bruyne says he cannot wait to step into the red-hot atmosphere of Anfield for Manchester City’s crunch clash with Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are six points clear at the top of the Premier League with the chance to extend their advantage to an even more imposing lead with a victory in Sunday’s huge game.

Liverpool fans are sure to crank up the volume as they bid to win their first ever Premier League crown and end a 30-year wait for a top-flight title.

City have won just once at Anfield in the Premier League era, but De Bruyne insists top players enjoy the test of the big occasion. 

“The big games are the ones you want to play, and if you want to compete for titles you have to be the best,” he said.

“The media will make a lot of it, and people have been talking about it for the whole week, even before the Champions League, but we just do our job, keep calm and prepare ourselves.

“I prefer to play in [a big atmosphere] than when there is nobody. Professionals want t play in front of 50, 60, 70, 80 thousand people and it makes it worthwhile.

“You train all your life to get to the big stages. I want to compete for titles and to be the best, and to do that you have to win against the best.”

A defeat would see City fall nine points behind their rivals, who have only failed to win on one occasion all season on the back of a campaign when they suffered just one loss – at the Etihad Stadium.

But De Bruyne insists it is too early to worry about chasing down their rivals, with Liverpool still top of the table irrespective of the result.

“Obviously it’s a big gap but four weeks ago people were saying it was Liverpool’s to lose,” the Belgium midfielder added.

“I’m not keeping track of what people say, we play so many games. We want to be ahead, but we’ve lost points.

“People will talk about it whether we win, lose or draw, it’s for them to say what they want.”

The defending champions head to Liverpool on the back of a 1-1 draw in Atalanta when they finished with 10 men and Kyle Walker in goal after Ederson picked up an injury and back-up goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off.

But De Bruyne says they will move on from that match and prepare for their top-of-the-table clash in the same way they get ready for every game.

“It’s a game like another,” he said. “We know it’s a big game – Liverpool are ahead, and we have to go back, recover and be ready for next Sunday.”

The Brazil international forward has a key role to play for the Reds, with his unselfish nature allowing him to chase down more major honours

Roberto Firmino still has “big goals” at Liverpool and is determined to “keep winning titles” while filling whatever role is required of him with the Reds.

The Brazil international has become a key component in Jurgen Klopp’s plans.

He has never been the most prolific of strikers, but his work rate and unselfish nature make him integral to the ‘heavy metal football’ favoured by the current Liverpool boss.

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Firmino has become a Champions League winner while at Anfield, with a Premier League crown now being chased down, and the 28-year-old is looking to stick around and collect more medals.

He has told Premier League Productions when quizzed on the changes to his game since arriving in England back in 2015: “I think I improved a lot in every way: physically, tactically, mentally, I learned a bit of every aspect.

“But I do not want to stop here. I want to keep improving – I always want more, I have big goals, I want to keep winning titles with this club and that is it.”

Firmino is a star in his own right at Liverpool, but has to share an attacking spotlight with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

He is happy to do that, with the South American prepared to do whatever is asked of him by a side which places greater emphasis on the collective over the individual.

“That is just me, my personality, to try to be a good and humble guy,” Firmino added.

“To try to help my team in the best way with assists and goals. I like that, I like to win all the time, and for that I will always be like this.

“I am a guy who respects my position on the pitch. Where the team needs me, I will play. As a No.9, but sometimes I play as a No.10, and I try to give my best. 

“As I mentioned before, I always want to help my team as best as I can and to always be chasing the win, always winning games. That is what matters the most.”

Firmino will also continue to give all he has for Liverpool boss Klopp, with the German considered to be one of the finest coaches in the business.

“I am never tired of praising Klopp,” said the hard-working frontman.

“He has so many good things on and off the pitch. He really helps us on a daily basis, we learn so much from him in every way. 

“He is able to have the team with him. We have been doing things well and learning a lot from him, and we have been showing on the pitch that we can grow more and more each day and do our best.”

Firmino has contributed three goals and eight assists to the Liverpool cause across all competitions this season.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz believes that the reason race stewards won’t allow an appeal of their decisions is because of pride and fear of losing credibility.

The Spanish driver found himself on the receiving end of the stewards’ wrath last weekend in Bahrain following a collision with Williams’ Lance Stroll for which he was judged as responsible.

Sainz’s punishment for the mishap is a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming Russian Grand Prix at Sochi.

“I obviously was quite surprised with the grid drop. I thought they were going to consider it a racing incident,” Sainz explained.

“Obviously in F1 when you are fighting for position, for the points, there are a lot of racing battles going on.

” It was, for me, a racing incident. Lance simply didn’t see me and maybe a guy with a bit more experience would have seen me and left me enough space on the corner.”

• Sainz gets Russia grid penalty for Stroll smash

The post-hearing process does not allow for any appeal or any discussions with the stewards after the fact, a restriction which Sainz disagrees with.

“You go home with the penalty, you get it, you cannot appeal, nothing. That’s how it is,” Sainz said.

“Even for pride, they wouldn’t change their opinion. I don’t think it would change nothing. Even if you had the opportunity to appeal, it’s not like suddenly the stewards are going to decide the contrary.

“They take a decision, they go with it, they understand they wouldn’t change their decision because they would lose some credibility.

“They will never change. But there you have it. First incident, fighting for position, first penalty.”

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Fernando Alonso is ratcheting up the pressure on McLaren-Honda, saying that his only interest is winning, and if that happens by September he will stay with the Woking outfit.

McLaren boss Zak Brown revealed yesterday that McLaren is fast approaching ‘a fork in the road’, when difficult decisions will have to be made.

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Alonso likely took note of his employer’s stance, but was asked at the Canadian GP media conference today about his own plans for the future.

We have to win,” said Alonso, who is in the final season of a three-year contract, when asked what it would take to keep him at McLaren-Honda in 2018.

“If we are winning before September or something like that, I will make a decision, then I will stay.

• McLaren nearing a ‘fork in the road’ with Honda

The Spaniard added however that the situation was fluid and that his outlook is not definitive, at least not yet.

“You cannot be 100 per cent now in June about one decision for next year that you don’t even start to consider.

“What we all want is to win, and I think relating to the answer before, Zak’s comments about Honda, is probably what you expect Zak to say.

“He wants to win and he wants to put McLaren [in] position for the championship. After three years we are not in that position, so things have to change, for the team.

“It’s the same with me, I want to win.

“I joined this project because I wanted to be champion, and we are not in that position, so if you don’t see things changing, if you are not in a competitive position, maybe you change project.

“That’s the only thing I can say now.

“Until I sit down in September, October or whatever, after the summer, as I’ve always said, I cannot say 100 per cent about anything now.”

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Lewis Hamilton is due for a day of hard work at his team’s headquarters in Brackley today as Mercedes attempts to resolve the chronic tyres issue affecting its W08.

Hamilton was out of contention for most of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, qualifying out of the top-ten and scoring his worst result of the year when he finished seventh.

Mercedes’ W08 appears to struggle when specifically shod with Pirelli’s ultrasoft tyre, a compound which will also be in wide use in Canada next week, a prospect which worries Hamilton.

“It’s only the ultra-soft that’s been an issue, so that’s really what I have got to try and understand with the team this week,” said the Brit.

“There’s so many different things we have got to look into to try and understand why one car could make it work and the other couldn’t.

“Whether it’s multiple laps, whether it’s backing off, utilising the fronts more than the rears, whether it’s making a more understeery car, an oversteery car, all these different things, brake balance, all these different things, need to start looking into.

“I will definitely look further into it.”

• Hamilton: 2017 title battle is far from over

Historically, Montreal is favourable terrain for Hamilton who has won five of the last ten races at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

But the three-time world champion will likely be challenged  to add a sixth Canadian Grand Prix to his impressive tally.

“It’s definitely going to be a difficult one,” he admits.

“As soon as we get on top of that ultra-soft then I think that it puts us in a much better position to attack with an undercut and that’s what we really need.

“Montreal has been a great hunting ground for me in the past and I plan for it to continue.

“We are going to work very, very hard in the next two weeks to make sure the car is in a place to make sure we are ahead of those Ferraris.”

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Force India owner Dr Vijay Mallya could hardly be happier with how his team is faring so far in 2017.

After the first five races the current season, Force India are in a strong fourth place in the constructors championship. They’re under 20 points away from overhauling Red Bull and breaking into the ‘Big Three’.

“I’m very pleased with our performance over the first quarter of the year,” said Mallya ahead of this week’s Monaco Grand Prix.

“53 points from five races is a tremendous achievement,” he added. “I’m proud to see Sahara Force India strengthen its fourth place in the championship.

“There is a great atmosphere in the team at the moment and plenty of determination.”

Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon have both finished in the points in every race so far this season. Perez’ best result was fourth last time out in Barcelona, while Ocon started the year with three back-to-back tenth places.

• Red Bull and Force India not on-track rivals

While not always a match for its rivals in terms of race pace, the Force India drivers have made the most of reliability and staying out of trouble. It’s allowed them to benefit from the misfortunes of those ahead of them on the grid.

“We simply need to keep up our consistency and pick up points at every race,” agreed Mallya.

However, he said that it wasn’t just good luck, and the team is getting the success it deserves after a lot of hard work over the winter.

“The VJM10 has improved race by race,” he insisted. “We’ve continued to develop and we are performing well across some very different tracks.”

There’s no track on the Formula calendar more different than Monaco. Last year, Perez made it onto the podium – and Mallya is aiming for the same success in 2017.

“Monaco this week is always a special case with its unique layout,” he said. “Our podium in Monaco last year was a special moment and those memories are still strong.”

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Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff says that sound and volume must be a primary concern for those devising the sport’s future engine platform.

As the sport designs its technical future beyond 2020, engine rules are at the forefront of its work with an emphasis on cost and increased simplicity.

It’s likely a relevant link with hybrid technology will be retained, but Wolff insists that in its quest to cater to the fans, F1 must offer  a better sounding power unit.

“Why do people say ‘rev the engine and go, go go’?” said Wolff.

“With everything going hybrid on the road, going efficient, and going autonomous, watching racing cars is still an audio-visual exercise.

“You can see the cars going fast, but the sound is very important. It gives us the perception of power and speed.

“I think maybe with the current generation of engines we have forgotten to take care about this point.

“Having said that, I don’t think it is completely bad. But with 2020, when we do the new engines, quality of sound should be an essential part. It is very important.”

• Red Bull’s Marko delivers another threat to F1

While he views the current involvement of F1’s four manufacturers as positive, Wolff agrees that allowing an affordable access to independent engine suppliers would be constructive.

“Will an independent engine supplier ever be competitive against OEM structures that have invested billions over the years to be where they are? I am not sure,” said Wolff.

“But I think if we create a new formula early enough, it will allow independent engine suppliers to look at the concept, and if they find sponsors or investors then this can be a formula that works.

“I am 110 percent convinced that F1 needs to be a technology formula – that bolting in an eight -cylinder naturally aspirated engine is not the way we should go because F1 would lose its DNA.

“It needs to be the most powerful, the fastest possible engine and where the best technology goes.”

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff won’t let the bitter rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel scupper the good relationship enjoyed by the two teams away from the racetrack.

Vettel’s successful opening salvo earlier in the season on the back of Ferrari’s resurgence was welcomed by Hamilton who said he wanted nothing more than a valiant and worthy opponent to race against.

Vettel and Hamilton professed their mutual respect and admiration, but the pair’s on-track clash in Baku last week has now blown apart that harmony, with the Brit saying his rival had disgraced himself by deliberately ramming into him in Azerbaijan.

Wolff acknowledged however that such a fiercely fought battle at the front was always going to challenge the relationship between the two men.

“The sport needs the rivalry and I think what we have seen in Baku has the ingredients of a great championship,” Wolff said.

“At a certain stage the best ones compete for the world championship and in that phase of their life and career they can’t be friends.

“Maybe we have seen a limitation of their respect.”

• What potential sanctions is Vettel facing?

Wolff insisted however that however brutal the fight could be, and through it the inevitable contention between Mercedes and Ferrari, he would always seek to preserve the friendly and respectful relationship between the two teams.

“For me the analogy is to rugby,” he said.

“During the race Ferrari are our enemies and I wouldn’t take any prisoners, but we must be capable, once the race is over, to have a beer like rugby players and acknowledge somebody’s performance and acknowledge we are all warriors and fierce competitors out there.

“Nevertheless, we are racing on a joint platform and that somehow unites us.”

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A former Formula 1 technical director has suggested that Honda’s current woes may be a result of falling behind in simulation technologies.

Toni Cuquerella suggested that the Japanese manufacturer had underestimated the importance of the field in modern Formula 1.

Formerly a technical director for HRT, Cuquerella is now a pundit for Spanish TV Movistar. He told El Confidencial newspaper this week that simulations were crucial now track time was so limited.

“In Formula 1 there is almost no private testing,” he explained. “The trend is to have increasingly sophisticated test stands.

“When you test your engine, it also depends on the coupling to the gearbox and also the chassis,” he continued. “How it flexes, how it vibrates.

“It may be that they have invested a lot but unwisely,” he said. “Or invested too little by underestimating the importance in this area.

“I have no idea what level Honda are at,” he admitted. “But I dare say they are not the leaders in this technology.”

• Honda says dyno-to-track transfer isn’t working

Prior to working at HRT, Cuquerella first worked in Formula as a race engineer at the now-defunct Super Aguri team. After two years he moved to BMW Sauber, where he performed the same role with Robert Kubica.

Earlier this week, Honda chief Yusuke Hawegawa admitted the engine provider is having trouble correlating its test benches with track performance.

Formula 1’s sporting boss Ross Brawn has revealed he’s offered assistance to help Honda improve its performance.

But it seems increasingly likely that the point of no return has already been reached. It’s now believed to be inevitable that McLaren will split with Honda by the end of the season.

Reports have been circulating that McLaren is in advanced talks with Mercedes to become a customer team in 2018.

 
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It is being reported by Italian paper Il Giornale that Ferrari’s chief engine designer Lorenzo Sassi has left the team on direct order from President Sergio Marchionne.

The departure, which has not been officially confirmed by the Scuderia,  apparently occurred earlier this week.

The move is considered as a surprise given the progress accomplished this season by Ferrari on its power unit front.

But reports are also suggesting that Marchionne may have moved Sassi to Ferrari’s road-car division in order to bolster its engine department, with the engineer’s expertise held in high regard by the Italian manufacturer’s boss.

The team is also scheduled to introduce a major engine upgrade at the British Grand Prix next week, which should provide the team’s SF70H with an extra boost of performance.

Questioned by a reporter at today’s media conference in Austria, Sebastian Vettel feigned to ignore the news.

“I don’t know what you are referring to,” he said. “It is better you ask a little bit higher up.”

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