Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has voiced his admiration for charismatic Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ahead of their Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Guardiola and Klopp were rivals during their respective stints in charge of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, an era the Spaniard's side dominated.

But the City boss has not forgotten the warm welcome his counterpart gave him when he first arrived at Bayern in 2013 and suffered a 4-2 defeat to Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup.

"He is a charismatic trainer. I admire him a lot. He is a top trainer," Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"As a foreign trainer going to Germany, when he had a lot of success, how he took care of me. The first day when I lost the Supercup, how gentle he was, and when he won and I won.

"Of course the way we play is completely different, I am Catalan and he is German so the influence is completely different.

"He celebrates goals much better than me, he hugs his players better than me.

"It is always a pleasure to face the big trainers in the world and test myself against them."

Liverpool triumphed 1-0 when the two managers faced off for the first time in the Premier League in December.