Watch Manchester City vs Liverpool on Thursday from 7pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League
Tuesday 1 January 2019 19:25, UK
Sergio Aguero has urged Manchester City not to change their style for Premier League leaders Liverpool on Thursday, live on Sky Sports.
Pep Guardiola has declared the match a must-win for City if they are to remain in the title race, having begun 2019 seven points behind Jurgen Klopp's side.
Liverpool have long been growing as an attacking force under Klopp, according to Aguero, and "their showing in the Champions League was a testament of that".
But City's all-time leading goalscorer believes the reigning champions, who achieved a record 100 points last season, are still capable of beating Klopp's unbeaten Liverpool side - if they stick to their own philosophy.
"Our focus should be on our own game," he said. "We are confident in our playing style and we believe it's the most effective to lead us to victory."
City responded to shock losses against Crystal Palace and Leicester by beating Southampton on Sunday, but will face a 10-point gap to bridge if they suffer another defeat against Liverpool at the Etihad.
"There's no denying it is a huge game for both clubs," Aguero added. "Direct clashes between leading teams have a major impact towards the end of the season.
"December didn't pan out the way we wanted it to and now we've got more ground to make up so, yes, that makes the game even more important.
"But we are only in January and there are still plenty of Premier League games ahead of us and, from the looks of it, there are three or four teams angling to win the title. It's going to come down to the wire.
"Of course, we knew repeating last year's success wouldn't be a simple task but we always aim for excellence."
Aguero has never scored at Anfield but has found the net in all six of his previous home Premier League matches against Liverpool.
"I'm not the type of guy who keeps a tally of that kind of thing," he said.
"Of course, I want to score as much as I can to help the team win and, if that's the way it panned out against Liverpool so far, then I hope I can keep the streak going at the Etihad in this meeting - and dispel it when we next face them at Anfield.
"Football always gives a chance to even the score."
