Four things that have to go right for Liverpool to make quadruple history

Just 16 games separate Liverpool from an achievement unmatched by any other club in Europe's top five leagues.

Win them all and Jurgen Klopp's stars will end the season with four winners' medals around their necks having added the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup to the League Cup they won with a penalty shootout victory over Chelsea in February. Astonishingly, the Reds have closed what appeared to be an unassailable 14-point gap to Manchester City to sit just one point behind at the top of the table.

On the European stage, they have been handed what on paper appears to be a favourable quarter-final draw against Portuguese club Benfica, boosting the Anfield faithful's hopes of winning four major honours. Things appear less advantageous on the FA Cup front as Liverpool must overcome City if they are to reach the final.

Such is the anticipation building among Liverpool fans, ending the season with anything but three or four trophies may be viewed as a disappointment. However, Klopp has repeatedly played down these ambitions as he knows it will take an entirely immaculate run-in for his side to pull off the unimaginable.

Without further ado, here are four things which could make or break Liverpool's quadruple quest.

Over to you, Mo and Co.

Winning numerous honours in the same season demands unity in the squad and a mammoth collective effort, yet the feat has evaded the greatest English teams ever assembled. The legendary Sir Alex Ferguson led Manchester United to the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the 1998/99 campaign, but they bowed out of the League Cup in the quarter-finals. 15 years earlier, the mighty Liverpool side of the early '80s won a slightly less prestigious treble of the First Division, European Cup and League Cup having exited the FA Cup at the fourth round.

From this we can glean it will take a miraculous effort to surpass the achievements of past dynasties and scoop all four major honours available in a single season. To that end, the Reds will need their world-class players to operate at the peak of their powers throughout the run-in. Mohamed Salah has been performing at the highest level throughout the season with an astonishing 28 goals in 16 appearances while Diogo Jota has scored a career-best 19 times.

At the back, Virgil van Dijk looks back to his dominant best having fully recovered from last season's anterior cruciate ligament injury, picking up the man of the match award in the Carabao Cup final. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have been typically threatening on the flanks and lead the Premier League for assists with 11 and 10 respectively.

The focus is on Liverpool's other elite players to ensure they are producing week in, week out as the likes of Salah, Jota, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Robertson are. Sadio Mane, for example, will be disappointed with his return of 12 goals this season and Thiago has often been left out of the starting XI. The latter must make a midfield berth his own by stamping his authority on matches just as he did throughout Bayern Munch's treble-winning 2019/20 campaign.

Simply put, Liverpool are blessed with many players regarded as the best in the world for their position; they must prove why between now and the end of May if the Reds are going to make history.

Klopp's line-up dilemmas

Joel Matip or Ibrahima Konate? Which midfield three? Should Luis Diaz have more starts in attack? These are just some of the selection decisions facing Klopp each matchday as he aims to pick a side which will complement his core group of world-class players.

Throughout the season, we have seen Matip and Konate share minutes as Van Dijk's partner, a host of midfield set-ups and Diaz burst onto the scene since his January arrival. The likelihood is Klopp will need every single member of his squad to step up at some point over the next couple of months given the testing nature of a fixture schedule which could demand they play nine times in April.

The Liverpool boss will be loath to upset the balance in a squad which has won nine league games in a row but he knows rotation is a necessity to avoid burnout. He must juggle his options with discernment with the Reds still in the running for three more trophies in mid-March for the first season since he took over in 2015.

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The Sky Blue elephant in the room

There is no getting around the fact Manchester City pose the biggest threat to Liverpool's unlikely chances of lifting four trophies this season. Many view the two English giants as the two best teams in the world and they are guaranteed to meet at least two more times this season with their FA Cup semi-final hot on the heels of a Premier League encounter in mid-April.

Given the Reds are just one point behind the league leaders ahead of next month's top-flight encounter, their fate remains in their own hands, but defeat at the Etihad could prove fatal to their title - and quadruple - hopes. Further, all it would take is a blistering performance from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and a tactical masterclass from Pep Guardiola to eliminate the Reds from the FA Cup in the space of 90 Wembley minutes.

Add into the equation the prospect of Liverpool facing City once again - this time in the Champions League final - and the scale of the task facing Klopp and his players becomes clear. The two teams have been drawn on opposite sides so Liverpool's prospective reward for overcoming Benfica then one of Bayern Munich or Villarreal would be a Stade de France showdown with City, so long as they defeat Atletico Madrid then either Chelsea or Real Madrid.

Although the Sky Blues allowed the Merseysiders to close the gap at the top of the league table by dropping two points against Crystal Palace last week, their quality cannot be underestimated. City have the best defensive record of any team in Europe's top five leagues with a paltry 18 goals conceded in 29 games and their array of attacking talent is dazzling.

Navigating the derbies

As mentioned, Liverpool's April fixture list makes for alarming reading and there is a 15-day stretch which stands out. Between the 10th and the 15th, the Reds must face City twice, travel to Manchester United and host Everton while also contending with their second quarter-final leg against Benfica.

United and Everton have struggled immensely this season but, as the old adage dictates, form has a habit of going out the window on derby days. Liverpool's two arch-enemies would love nothing more than to put a major dent in their quadruple hopes, so you can guarantee they will be well up it.

Further, while Liverpool versus City is not traditionally viewed as a derby, there is no denying the rivalry between the two clubs has escalated throughout their domestic domination in recent years, adding to the emotion of a taxing run for the Reds. Gaining a positive result in the first leg against Benfica - which is being played away from home - on 5 April could be imperative for Liverpool.

This would allow Klopp to rest players eight days later in the second leg, which is sandwiched in-between the Premier League trip to City and FA Cup clash with the same opposition. One thing is for certain, the hugely-challenging run in April will play a huge part in defining Liverpool's season.