Sadio Mane of Liverpool celebrates scoring the winning goal against Aston Villa during the Premier League match at Villa Park, Birmingham on November 2. Photo: VCG

Despite what the modern ­media may make us feel, football was not invented when Sky Sports started broadcasting the newly invented Premier League in the 1992-93 season.

It is now the 131 years since the Football League was formally established at a meeting in Manchester's Royal Hotel - and although that landmark was demolished just 20 years later - the league that it birthed has gone from strength to strength.

That has not all been since the Football League and Premier League split ahead of that inaugural season.

For example, there were three teams that won three Division One titles in a row - Huddersfield Town, Arsenal and Liverpool - while only Manchester United have done it in the Premier League era, although they did it on two occasions.

That could be matched by Manchester City this season. But not if Liverpool have anything to do with it.

There is a strong argument that we are in a special moment in English football history. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have won the last two Premier League titles with record points totals and last year they were pushed all the way by Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

The Reds may not have won their first English top-flight title for 29 years but the blow will have been softened by winning a sixth European crown after beating Spurs in the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid.

While Liverpool's fans might have been sated by extending their record as England's most successful club on the continent, the players appear hungrier than ever this season.

They have started with an unbeaten run that now stretches to 11 games, winning 10 of them. That has given them a six-point lead over the champions as they head into their first meeting of the season at Anfield this Sunday.

It is a lead that has been built upon last-minute winners from Klopp's Kop favorites. The most recent of which was Sadio Mane's late header at Villa Park last week, four minutes into injury time. That was the club's 35th such injury-time winner of the Premier League era, a record.

'Clasico'

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero played down the importance of the fixture in an interview with France Football. "It may be the clasico for television," the Argentina striker said, "but for us, the clasico, it's the match against United."

But in the same interview he admitted that it is the Reds of Liverpool and not Manchester that are their rivals for the title.  

"But these last four seasons, Liverpool have become a very strong team and are now fighting with us to win the Premier League," Aguero said.

 "Last season, they didn't go all the way, so they are very motivated," he added. "This year, they are in front of us and will try to go to the end."

While Aguero might be playing things down between the best two clubs in the country, the managers of those clubs have been anything but becalming in the lead-up to the biggest game of the season so far.

City boss Guardiola appeared to criticize Liverpool top scorer Mane by saying he was "sometimes diving" after being booked for simulation at Villa Park as Liverpool looked to keep their six-point lead intact.

Klopp, never one to shy away from a war of words, did not let the Catalan's comments go unresponded.

"I couldn't really believe it to be honest and then I saw it," the German told the British media. "I am not sure if Pep spoke in that moment about Sadio or the team - both is not too nice.

"I am not too sure if I want to put oil on the fire. And I promise not to mention tactical fouls," he added, in reference to City players breaking up opposition attacks as early as ­possible by giving away free kicks.

Guardiola backed down, to a point, later in the week, by suggesting that he was in the wrong.

"For Jurgen it is a penalty, for the referee it was a penalty, for VAR it was a penalty, so I was the wrong guy," he said ahead of City's UEFA Champions League game against Atalanta.

"Jurgen said he knows Sadio ­better than me. And I have an incredible respect and the message in the football always try to be like this, always positive and attractive," he continued.

"My son and my daughter, when they win in the last minutes, they ask me how lucky they are. I say it's not lucky.

"What Liverpool have done last season and this season many times is because they have this incredible quality and this incredible talent to fight until the end. Hopefully I can clarify everything for Jurgen."

'Oil on the fire'

He did not touch on Klopp's belief that the City boss is obsessed with Liverpool or by the view on "tactical fouls" shared by Klopp and many other managers in the Premier League.

"No comment on that. I don't put oil in the fire," was Guardiola's only input.

But there is indeed a fire raging between the teams, as Aguero ­admitted. "They are the only team in the league that can hurt us. They have been chasing a new league title for years."

While that looks past the fact that both Spurs and Norwich City have taken points off the champions in the league this season, the latter part of the statement rings true.

After winning 11 league titles across the 1970s and 80s, it will be 30 years should they lift the trophy in May next year. Most of the Liverpool squad were not born when Kenny Dalglish's side lifted the Football League Division One trophy. In fact, of the current playing staff only backup goalkeepers Adrian and Andy Lonergan, and the midfield pair of James Milner and Adam Lallana were.

They will go down in history if they end the wait. There is a long way to go before that, of course, starting with the big game on Sunday. It might pour oil on the fire of a rivalry that is set to burn for some time yet.