Liverpool will enter the final match of the group stage in the Champions League today against Austria Salzburg, and is in an uncomfortable position for a team that crowned the competition five months ago.
The English team leads Group Five, one point behind Napoli and three points from Salzburg, and the three compete for two seats in the round of 16.
Liverpool tied 1-1 with Napoli in Anfield the previous round, and Salzburg beat 4-1 over Belgian Genk outside.
The English team will qualify to the next round if Napoli tied or lost to Genk, but the league leaders need to win to ensure the first place and avoid the elite teams in the next round.
If Napoli beat Genk, Salzburg would have to beat Liverpool by a better score than 4-3 that they lost at Anfield to ensure qualification.
Liverpool will play a match that will determine the fate of his crossing into the final price for the second season in a row.
A draw with Salzburg is sufficient for him to qualify, which would put the team in a state of anticipation, such as last season, when the victory over Napoli was decisive in the qualification process.
"I have been here for four years, tell me when it was easy ... Last year we had to win at our stadium over Napoli 1-0, I cannot remember a match that had more pressure than that," team coach Juergen Klopp said after the last round draw against Napoli. So it is really hard to be in this situation, but we did. "
Klopp was expected to rest the first team in the face of Salzburg, if the team had succeeded in clinching the transit card during the last match, but now they must decide the qualification in the match that takes place in Austria.
"I know how people think," Klopp said. "They wished we could clinch the qualification card by beating Napoli and playing comfortably against Salzburg."
Liverpool are unlikely to play for a tie given their offensive style, but Klopp has to find the right solution to reduce the severity of the eight-goal Norwegian striker Erling Halland, who finished second in the scorers' standings.