A week has passed since Liverpool’s scintillating 4-3 triumph over runaway leaders Manchester City and up next for Jurgen Klopp’s side tonight is a team at the other end of the spectrum; rock-bottom Swansea City.

The Reds are currently unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions and are significantly stepping up their pursuit of a top-four finish by blitzing opposition standing in their path.  Klopp’s men have won their last four league matches and will be aiming to extend this to five in South Wales.

People will look at Liverpool’s opponents tonight and claim that this should, on paper, be a walk in the park for the Reds, given that the Swans are rooted to the foot of the table and have scored just 14 goals this campaign.

Klopp’s front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah have 20 more than that tally alone.  

However, in years gone by, dropping points to lower league opposition has become something that fans of the club have become rather well accustomed to. Conversely, in matches of the highest magnitude, that the Merseysiders have been outsiders to win; they have more often than not, risen to the occasion.

Last season in the league, Liverpool failed to lose a single game to top-six opposition, but instead lost to Burnley, Bournemouth, Swansea, Hull City, Leicester City and Crystal Palace and further illustrated what their biggest downfall is.

In fixtures against sides that finished in the top half of the table last campaign, the Reds dropped a total of 17 points in all, compared to 19 points against sides in the bottom half of the standings.

Liverpool’s inability to see games out has been their Achilles’ heel for some time now, but this is a trend that Klopp will be hoping will soon fall out of fashion. With all the odds stacked in their favour tonight, the Merseysiders must prove that they can be relied upon when most required.

Fellow top-four challengers, Tottenham Hotspur, drew 1-1 away to Southampton yesterday, which now presents Klopp’s side with the opportunity to extend a five-point gap over Mauricio Pochettino’s men tonight.  To make matters worse for Spurs; their next three league games are against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, so capitalising on this is crucial.

Despite the fast-flowing and intricate football that the Reds often play, they perhaps need to be slightly mote ruthless in their approach to matches. For example, take the 4-3 game against the Sky Blues as a prime example of this.

How many other sides in the division would up the ante with the score at 4-1, in search of further goals against the champions-elect? The Reds were pegged back to 4-3 but managed to hold on, though, at times, this constant need to hound the opponent just feels unnecessary.

Although relentless gegenpressing is in, and always has been a part of Klopp’s DNA, it has to be said that maybe that in high-pressure situations, there is nothing wrong with the 50-year old deploying a contingency plan, to ensure that Liverpool are not surrendering valuable points.

Tonight will define how far the Reds have actually progressed under the guidance of the former Borussia Dortmund manager. Can Liverpool deliver the goods, or will old habits die hard?

Tom Cavilla.