The elephant in the room at the City Football Academy

Enzo Maresca sat down to preview a trip to Anfield and spent the bulk of his press conference talking about something else entirely. Manchester City's guilty verdict on 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules is not the kind of story that takes a back seat, regardless of what the manager would prefer, and Maresca's attempts to redirect attention towards Sunday's fixture only underlined just how much weight the ruling is carrying inside the club right now.

The Premier League published their redacted 40-page core decision on 29 September, confirming that City had artificially inflated their commercial revenues by £830m between 2009 and 2018 through what were described as "sham" contracts. The division's chief executive Richard Masters stated the club had "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade". City have since appealed, and their manager is adamant that appeal will succeed.

Maresca's message: trust the club, wait for the verdict

Asked repeatedly about the ruling and what it means for the club, Maresca gave a consistent answer: he trusts the people at the top of the Etihad, and he is not going to say anything further until the appeal plays out. "I trust the club because I trust the people, it's why I joined," he said. "There's no other club I would like to be. I am proud here, I am very happy so this is my club."

He was equally direct about his confidence in the outcome. "The right moment to speak about that is when we win this appeal. I would like to speak about this situation when we win the appeal. Now it is nonsense to speak about anything else. I know you all want to hear something [different], but no. I trust the club in this moment, in the future and always." Whether that confidence is genuine or a carefully managed public line, it was delivered without a flicker of doubt.

Maresca also addressed the mood inside the building, and his reading of it was bullish. "Viewing the environment in the building this week, I am not worried at all. At this moment, we are top. All the players have reasons to be excited and happy." He acknowledged the noise is real and that the situation is serious, but maintained his squad are focused on what they can control.

What it all means heading into Sunday

All of which brings us back to the football, which is where Maresca desperately wants everyone's attention. City travel to Anfield with their Premier League record at the ground making grim reading: one win in front of supporters there in 23 years, a 2-1 victory back in February. Maresca is under no illusions about the scale of the task. "It will be a tough game, a tough test but we need to be ready," he said. "The environment at Anfield is nice and maybe even worse because of the situation."

On the injury front, there was better news. Erling Haaland, who had missed time with muscle fatigue on international duty with Norway, is confirmed fit. "He is ready for Anfield," Maresca confirmed, allowing himself a moment of levity. "Finally, a football question," he joked. It was the one line that drew a smile, and perhaps that tells you everything about the week Maresca has just had.

Sunday's fixture arrives with off-field shadows following City down the M62, but on the pitch, Liverpool will know they face a side that still believes it can walk out of Anfield with three points. Whether the backdrop helps or hinders them remains to be seen.