Including his forgettable stint at Chelsea, Salah has already faced Man City on more than 20 occasions in all competitions, and the reigning Premier League and European champions are the 31-year-old's second-favourite opponent in terms of overall goal contributions.

Indeed, Salah has struck 11 goals and set up six more in his 21 meetings with Man City for 17 direct involvements - his second-highest tally against a single team - with Manchester United (18) being his outright favourite opponent.

In fact, only against the Red Devils (14) and Tottenham Hotspur (12) has Salah scored more goals against than Man City, while six assists versus Guardiola's side is just one inferior to his seven against Brighton & Hove Albion.

All 11 of Salah's efforts against Man City have come in Liverpool colours, and the ex-Chelsea man is therefore the joint second-highest goalscorer in this fixture, level with Sir Kenny Dalglish and only behind Ian Rush's 15 strikes.

John Stones takes on Mohamed Salah during the Premier League game between Manchester City and Liverpool on September 9, 2017 © Reuters

Salah's first taste of action against Man City came for Chelsea in the 2013-14 FA Cup, where he played 45 minutes of a 2-0 defeat to Manuel Pellegrini's side, and he would not take on the Citizens again until his debut season with Liverpool in the 2017-18 campaign.

During that sensational individual season, Salah bagged a goal and assist in a 4-3 Anfield triumph in the Premier League, before also contributing two goals and an assist to the Reds' 5-1 aggregate success in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Fast-forward to March 2024, and Salah had either scored or assisted in each of his last five games against Guardiola's team in all competitions before the 1-1 draw in March, where he only earned 29 minutes off the bench amid his fitness troubles.

That blank broke Salah's run of directly contributing to a goal against Man City in the Premier League, having previously struck himself or laid on an assist in seven top-flight fixtures since a 4-0 crushing in July 2020.