Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admits some of his jibes at Manchester City have upset Pep Guardiola.
But ahead of Sunday's showdown, the Reds boss detailed the respect he has for his Etihad counterpart.
He said: "I am not sure I ever told Pep, but I like him!
"Obviously from time to time I annoy him with the things I say in press conferences, but I don't say anything bad about him or Man City.
"But when he gets told some things, I can see in the press conferences that he gets really angry. Sorry for that!
"But I respect him a lot and we think we know a lot about each other but we really don't. We meet twice a year for football games.
"Two years ago, though, we had a few situations where we went together for awards shows and stuff like this in Manchester and our families met.
"I can tell you if someone has a family like Pep Guardiola, he must be a good person. His missus and the kids are outstanding and that is what is important for me.
"During the game, whatever he says and I say...we want to win and we have completely different personalities and stuff like this.
"But none of it matters, I like him and I respect him a lot.
"The biggest challenge for all managers in football is to face his teams because they are good, but I like that.
"It is one of these games where when people talk about 'this level' there is no room for mistakes and if you do you get punished.
"It is like that always against Manchester City, so you better not make a mistake because you will get a knock.
"But if you don't make a mistake, at least when you are Liverpool, you have a chance and I really think it is interesting to give it a try."
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