Kevin De Bruyne set for Manchester City return as Pep Guardiola confirms Belgian superstar has recovered from injury

Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne [Courtesy]

Pep Guardiola has opened the door to a sensational return from Kevin De Bruyne against Liverpool this weekend.

De Bruyne has been out with knee ligament damage since the opening weekend of the season but has returned to training ahead of Sunday's top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.

Asked if De Bruyne could make his Manchester City return against Liverpool, Guardiola said: “We will see tomorrow.

“He made part of the training session today, he is training with us.

De Bruyne has been out with knee ligament damage since the opening weekend of the season [Courtesy]

“Everybody is okay. Fabian Delph is not available, but the others are okay.

“Ilkay Gundogan has a little bit of a problem, he could not train today, but we will see tomorrow.”

City's team bus was attacked by Liverpool fans throwing bottles and missiles on their last visit to Anfield back in April, for their Champions League quarter-final.

Ahead of their return this weekend, Guardiola said he hoped there would be no repeat of the ugly scenes that left them needing a replacement bus for the return journey.

“Liverpol should be upset, not me,” said Guardiola. “The Police knew it before it happened, now we know it, I don't know whats going to happen.”

Pep Guardiola confirmed that the Belgian trained with the team on Friday, but would not confirm he will be part of the squad.

The Belgian trained with the team on Friday [Courtesy]

The Blues have encountered problems in stopping the Reds in recent seasons with Jurgen Klopp's side coming out on top in the Champions League last term - and Guardiola has praised the Reds.

“They deserve all the praise they get. We got a lot of praise last season," Guardiola said. "We should be so proud to be compared with them.

“It was always United, Liverpool, then Chelsea, then Arsenal, and now we are there. We try to get closer.

“He [Klopp] has all the qualities that everybody knows about Liverpool. In the end, it’s the teams and the clubs that win the game. I don’t play against the manager, we play against Liverpool. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, sometimes we win competitions, sometimes we lose competitions.

“He is an excellent manager, I have a lot of respect for the way he plays, his proactive teams. In the Premier League we beat them, in the Champions League we didn’t.”