Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists he will "miss" not seeing Virgil van Dijk line up for Liverpool when they meet on Sunday.
The Reds will have to try and retain the title without their talismanic centre-back after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament last month against Everton.
"The most important thing is that the surgery was good and I hope he can recover as quickly as possible," he said.
"I will miss him, I like to play with the best players on the pitch and Liverpool remains an incredibly top team because the structure is there.
"Every player knows what they have to do and the result against Atalanta.
"We faced them last season and know how hard it is to beat them away - and they did it.
"Liverpool remains a top class team."
