Liverpool and Manchester City are miles ahead of the rest - Warnock

Neil Warnock hopes Cardiff City avoid getting "battered" when it faces a Liverpool team he believes is one of the world's best sides.

Liverpool and Manchester City are the best teams in the Premier League by a mile, according to Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock.

Jurgen Klopp's side heads to Wales on Sunday on the back of a 4-1 Champions League win over Porto, its eighth victory in a row in all competitions.

It sits top of the league table, a point ahead of Manchester City, which in turn is 16 points clear of Tottenham in third place.

Warnock is hugely impressed by the work Klopp has done at Anfield and admits he is keen to avoid being "battered" by a team that has scored 77 times in 34 league matches.

"I think this Liverpool side along with Man City are the best by a mile at the moment. I think they're one of the best teams in the world," he told a news conference on Friday.

"They look so balanced now. Jurgen's done a fabulous job because there were one or two weaknesses and he's filled those weaknesses with top quality players. 

"They've got young lads coming through who are going to play for England, Scotland and all the other teams for the next ten years so it's a great mix they've got really.

"We just have to cope the best we can. On a good day, as they've shown this season, they'll beat anyone. We just want to perform well. 

"It's going to be a great day but I don't just want it to be a lovely day where we get battered, I want us to put up a performance, so that's what we've been working on this week and a good performance will stand us in good stead for the next couple of games."

Cardiff gave its chances of Premier League survival a huge boost with a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday, a result that moves it to within two points of Chris Hughton's side.

Although the Welsh club remains in the relegation places and has played a game more than Brighton, Warnock says his players are trying to enjoy their fight to stay up.

"The dressing room as you can imagine was elated," he said of the victory. "[It was] not just the fact that we'd won but the way that we'd won. 

"We played very well on the night. We were always aware that if we'd lost the game than that would be it. 

"We are enjoying it as much as we can. I think when the pressure's on you you've got to try and enjoy what you're doing, really."