Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Liverpool are the perfect opponents for his 1,000th match as a manager on Sunday.
The landmark adds extra intrigue to a titanic duel between the Premier League's second and third-placed clubs as they both bid to hunt down Arsenal in the title race.
"If I could choose one rival for this personal milestone that I want to share with many, many people, that would be the best," Guardiola said in Friday's press conference.
“I have been here longer than ever in this country, the impact it’s had on my life. Barcelona is my club and Bayern was incredible as well but Liverpool have been the biggest rival in this country and especially Jurgen [Klopp, the former Liverpool manager]. It could not be better.
"The destiny and universe has decided for this."
Guardiola has won 715 of his matches in all competitions and 40 major trophies, including success in the UEFA Champions League on three occasions.
Asked if he knows how many victories he has amassed, he said: "Of course I know, a lot. The numbers are insane, I'm sorry to tell you.
"I'm not thinking how many but when you have the milestones and you read what you have done, the victories, the average, not just in Premier League but in the Champions League too, we have won incredible things in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here.
"It is difficult to reach and if I start again I would not reach it, it is too much games."
The best manager ever?
When asked whether he is the greatest manager ever, Guardiola, whose managerial career spans 18 years, admitted that he deserves to be in the conversation.
"They are completely right!" he said. "The influence of every manager has been through history. Of course, I can say I've been part of that because the numbers explain, I've had success and it's been nice to watch my teams.
"So I'm there.”
Rivalry with Liverpool similar to El Clasico
The Spaniard has compared the rivalry between Man City and Liverpool to that of Barcelona and Real Madrid in "El Clasico" and spoken of how he misses the challenge of facing former Reds manager Klopp.
"The crowd in the stadium is quite similar, it's fantastic," said Guardiola. "We helped City to create this rivalry for the last decade. Before that it was United-Liverpool, I guess.
"What happened with the Jurgen period means this has been the biggest because maybe after the first season the Premier League was between us and them.
"Always I enjoyed this healthy rivalry. I always had the feeling of how much we respected each other. Jurgen gave me a lot and I miss him. He gave me a lot in terms of how much I had to do to try and beat him."
Pep impressed by Liverpool's win over Real Madrid
Guardiola believes Man City, who have won their last three matches in all competitions, starting against Swansea City in the EFL Cup, have to prove their quality again at the Etihad Stadium against a side who showed their own prowess in their 1-0 midweek win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
“We are better but we have to prove it again,” Guardiola added. “The last three victories help a lot.
“Swansea helped us a lot - we showed many good things in that game. Bournemouth and the game against Dortmund [too], but we know the rival that we have.
“I saw the game against Real Madrid, the quality they have. They are a top, top team.
“Hopefully our people come to celebrate my anniversary in the stadium and together we can beat an important rival.”