Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has rejected Jurgen Klopp's complaints about their spending power.
Klopp's claim that Liverpool cannot compete with the wealth of City's Abu Dhabi owners sparked a war of words between the two clubs following an equally feisty encounter at Anfield last Sunday that saw Liverpool inflict the champions' first defeat of the season.
Ahead of Brighton's visit to the Etihad on Saturday, Guardiola said: "Firstly, it's not a surprise because it's not the first time he said that in the last five or six years. And the second point, it is Brighton (we are facing)."
When it was put to Guardiola that the City-Liverpool fixture is in danger of becoming toxic, he added: "I don't think so. From our side, I'm pretty sure that it hasn't."
Liverpool accused City fans of 'vile chants' and graffiti relating to the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies, and Guardiola said: "I didn't hear the chant. If it's happened I'm so sorry."