Liverpool may hold a big advantage over Manchester City in the table, but Jurgen Klopp’s team also stand over their rivals in more than one sense of the word.
The Premier League season couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for Liverpool having won eight out of eight.
Meanwhile, City have stumbled along the way having suffered surprise defeats to Norwich and Wolves along with a home draw with Tottenham.
It means Klopp’s outfit sit eight points clear of their rivals, but they will know better than most how a big lead can quickly be caught by a rampant City side.
This is a City team who have amassed an incredible 198 points over the past two title-winning seasons, setting numerous records along the way.
But with Aymeric Laporte missing from City’s backline until next year, there is one glaring area which stands in Liverpool’s favour.
Guardiola made the decision not to replace Vincent Kompany in the summer and with Laporte out injured, City have had to deploy a makeshift backline with Fernandinho partnering Nicolas Otamendi.
Laporte and Kompany stand at 6ft 2in and 6ft 3in respectively, meaning City have lost a lot of height this season so far.
Otamendi is now their tallest defender, standing at 6ft with Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko both at 5ft 9in and Kyle Walker at 5ft 10in.
In contrast, Liverpool have one of the most imposing centre-back partnerships in Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip with the duo standing at 6ft 4in and 6ft 5in respectively, giving the defensive line an average height of 6ft 2in.
But it’s not only in defence where Liverpool comfortably stand above their rivals.
In total, Liverpool’s average height is just over 6ft, while City are one of the shortest teams in the league at just 5ft 9in.
And it has proved costly for the reigning Premier League champions so far this season.
As Liverpool.com’s Kristian Walsh points out, City have the joint third-worst record in the league when it comes to conceding goals from set pieces having shipped three so far.
The Reds in contrast are yet to concede a goal from a set piece in the league with both teams scoring four apiece.