For the final time in a Liverpool tracksuit, Jurgen Klopp will be barking orders from a rival Premier League touchline on Monday, when the Reds trek to the West Midlands to scrap with Aston Villa at Villa Park.
The meeting between third and fourth represents Klopp's penultimate game at the Liverpool helm, before he enjoys an emotional swansong at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on May 19.
A farewell campaign that began with hopes of a magnificent European and domestic quadruple will instead end with just another EFL Cup medal to shout about, as Manchester City's thrashing of Fulham on Saturday mathematically took the Reds out of the title equation.
A fitting end to the Klopp era is still anticipated, though, while Unai Emery's Lions have plenty to fight for too, as they are yet to confirm Champions League qualification ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Goals have been a guarantee in Liverpool's encounters with Villa during the Klopp regime, as there has not been a goalless stalemate in this fixture since the German arrived in England, and nets often ripple very quickly at Villa Park in particular.
Liverpool, Villa share quickfire strikes at Villa Park
In each of the last four games between the Reds and the Lions at Villa Park, the deadlock has been broken inside the opening five minutes, suggesting that the 0-0 scoreline may not be present in the top left-hand corner for long on Monday.
Klopp's side required just five minutes to draw first blood at Villa Park on Boxing Day 2022, as Mohamed Salah set the wheels in motion for a 3-1 triumph, but it was Steven Gerrard's Lions who struck quickly in May 2022.
On that occasion, Douglas Luiz was on target just three minutes into the match, and only six minutes were on the board by the time that Joel Matip had levelled, before Sadio Mane sealed victory for the Merseyside giants.
A January 2021 FA Cup tie behind closed doors - in which Villa were forced to field a team comprised of academy products due to a COVID-19 cluster - saw Mane net with four minutes gone, the same time that Ollie Watkins took to open the floodgates in the unforgettable 7-2 slaughter.
As such, both Liverpool and Villa have benefitted from early strikes at Villa Park on two occasions in their last four meetings, but since that mesmerising nine-goal triumph in October 2020, the Lions have lost six of their last seven against the Reds.
Liverpool at risk of equalling unwanted 26-year feat
The 3-1 loss on Boxing Day 2022 means that Villa have been beaten in 16 home Premier League matches against Liverpool, who boast more Premier League triumphs on the road against the fourth-placed side than they do against any other opponent.
However, clean sheets have been extremely hard to come by for the visitors in recent times, as they have conceded at least once in each of their last nine Premier League matches, their worst run since shipping in 11 on the bounce under Roy Evans in 1998.
The Reds' defensive indiscipline spells optimism for Emery's crop, who coincidentally opened the scoring inside the first five minutes of their last Premier League home game, the 2-2 draw with Chelsea in which Marc Cucurella turned into his own net early doors.
Continental fatigue may also be weighing heavily on Villa after their Europa Conference League heartbreak against Olympiacos, but as Liverpool are struggling to keep their own back door bolted shut, another early deadlock-breaker on Monday is not beyond the realm of possibility.
