Jurgen Klopp and his players will surely be watching on tonight as the Champions League knockout stages finally get under way again.
Defeat to Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 allows the squad some rare time off and the chance to watch the rest of Europe’s elite battle it out.
That starts tonight with Juventus taking on Lyon and Real Madrid travelling to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City but the latter is likely to be of more interest to Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been competing right at the top of the Premier League against the Reds for a couple of seasons now but - much like Liverpool’s once-elusive Premier League title - City will be desperate to get over the line in UEFA’s flagship competition.
It is widely believed that Guardiola was brought to the club for that very reason. Now that Liverpool have finally secured their long-awaited domestic glory and City will be hoping to now do the same in Europe.
Ahead of tonight’s encounter, there are multiple narratives that Liverpool may be keeping a close eye on as their Premier League rivals take on the Spanish champions.
After months of essentially uncontested football, Liverpool supporters will be able to see just how competitive Guardiola’s team can be next season. Eight wins from 10 games post-lockdown suggests that City will be in the perfect shape to face Zinedine Zidane’s side but a slightly different task lies in front of them.
While City’s 30 goals in 10 goals from post-lockdown fixtures will go down in the season’s statistics, a lack of competitive nature to most of those games shrinks in importance compared to a knock-out Champions League tie.
A 2-1 advantage going into tonight’s fixture suggests that City have some margin for error from the first-leg. However, the way in which they address two key issues may provide insight into the side that Liverpool could be competing with next season.
Perhaps most importantly, Sergio Aguero’s absence due to injury means that Gabriel Jesus is expected to lead the line and his performance in such a big game will show if the 23-year-old is ready to fill the Argentine’s boots.
Jesus himself has been impressive so far under Guardiola but Aguero tends to start the most important games. Considering both Aguero’s injury issues and age, an underwhelming performance from Jesus tonight could force City to dip into the transfer market.
It may not be an area that needs urgently addressing, such is the sheer output of chance creation at City, but finding a player to either replace Aguero or provide future competition for Jesus might be considered.
Furthermore, Guardiola faces question marks of how he resolves defensive issues against a potent Real Madrid attack.
Recent revelations of Eric Garcia wanting to leave the club suggest that City will be in the market for a right-footed centre back this summer but it remains to be seen who starts tonight. Fernandinho had been trusted at times during the Premier League season and it could be likely to see him play there again.
For Liverpool, they will be watching on with a degree of interest as City look to continue their quest for European glory - and several narratives could bear thinking about before they go toe to toe next season.
