Pep Lijnders knows Manchester City has the ideal replacement for the injured Kevin de Bruyne in Saturday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola, who will be in the opposite dugout when Liverpool travels to Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime, has had the privilege of coaching some of the best players in football history.

Even before he arrived at City, he oversaw the likes of Lionel Messi and Xavi and Iniesta, two midfielders who are idolized around the world. At Bayern Munich, he had the opportunity to work with Robert Lewandowski, a historically productive striker, as well as other iconic midfielders such as Xabi Alonso and Toni Kroos.

And that’s simply to name six names from an unrivaled list. You could probably put together at least five XIs of Guardiola’s players that would be good enough to win the Champions League.

Guardiola has sat on the bench to see the latter years of David Silva, Vincent Kompany, and Sergio Agüero, as well as Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, and has brought Erling Haaland to English football.

Bernardo Silva is another player who, in the Spaniard’s opinion, is right up there. Guardiola proclaimed him ‘one of the best players he’s ever seen’ after his starring performance in City’s 3-0 triumph against Manchester United at Old Trafford at the end of last month (via Man City’s official website).

Indeed, he has been a major contributor to City’s exceptional success since his arrival in 2017. In recent years, there has been continual rumor that he will depart, first to join Barcelona, then PSG, and, most recently, to join the Saudi Pro League’s growing number of superstars. Bernardo reveals that he considered accepting a lucrative offer to play in the Middle East (via Fabrizio Romano), but chose to continue at the highest level instead. This encouraged him to sign a new contract that would last until 2026.

Following the victory against United, Guardiola stated that he was’scared’ of losing a player he regarded ‘irreplaceable’ in a love letter to Bernardo (via Mirror). He has, indeed, proven his worth yet again this season.

The 29-year-old has been selected on a continuous basis, starting eight of City’s first twelve games, but his position has been everything from consistent. He’s already played as a right winger, a number 10, an eight, and even a number six with Rodri.

His adaptability originates from the breadth of his skill set and footballing brain, prompting compatriot Diogo Jota to choose him as the one player from another club he’d like to see at Anfield. “For me, he’s probably one of the most intelligent football guys I’ve ever known and the way he can hide the ball from opponents is special,” he said in a statement.

Bernardo has built a reputation as a player who seldom loses possession, even when attempting daring balls, and he’s validated that this season by completing an astounding 91.1 percent of his long passes, second only to Rodri (91.8) in City’s ranks.

Guardiola will be missing the injured De Bruyne on Saturday, but Silva is ready to fill the creative void. He’s averaging more predicted assists per 90 minutes (0.34) than any other player in the Premier League this season, and, like De Bruyne, he can be a playmaker through carrying. He is second on the City team in terms of progressive carries (43), and second in the league in terms of carries that result in a critical pass with nine (only Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski has more with 12).

Meanwhile, he’s relentless off the ball. The former Monaco man ran 12.85km against Brighton last month, one of the ten longest distances run by a Premier League player in a match this season, and can expect to log similar mileage on Saturday if Liverpool’s more technical midfield can win a greater share of possession.

Bernardo is expected to harass the red shirts throughout the game, as only one City player (Jérémy Doku with five) has made more tackles in the attacking third than him, and he’s also third in opponent pass blocking, having done so eight times.

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders is well aware of the magnitude of his influence. Lijnders reveals in his book, Intensity, which covers the two clubs’ title duel in 2021/22, that he was concerned as early as September that City would not lose many games with Bernardo involved.

While the Premier League’s top scorer Haaland will undoubtedly demand a lot of pre-match tactical attention, it’s apparent that Liverpool will also need to find a method — somehow — to minimize Bernardo’s influence if they are to walk away with a spectacular triumph from the Etihad.