(Reuters) – Manchester City will give newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool a guard of honour when the teams meet at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday, manager Pep Guardiola has said.

Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for a top-flight title when last season’s champions City were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea last week, handing the Merseyside club an unassailable 23-point lead at the top of the table.

Liverpool’s first match since being confirmed as champions is at City’s stadium and Guardiola said his players would pay tribute to Juergen Klopp’s title-winning side.

“We are going to do the guard of honour of course,” Guardiola said.

The 49-year-old added that he was already looking forward to helping City come back stronger next season.