Liverpool will be hoping to put aside an underwhelming run of results as they take on Barclays Premier League strugglers Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
Remi Garde's side are currently propping up the table with just 16 points from 25 games - half of which have come in their last five games - having enjoyed somewhat of a mini-revival.
Jürgen Klopp's charges will be well aware of Villa's recent resurgence, having drawn twice and lost three times in their last five games in all competitions since that dramatic 5-4 win away at Norwich City.
That turbulent spell of form seems to have left their slim hopes of a top-four finish almost completely in ruins, but the German will be eager to see his side start to pick themselves up ahead of their showpiece Capital One Cup final clash with Manchester City in two weeks' time.
They have suffered a number of demoralising results recently, not least their loss at West Ham United in an FA Cup fourth-round replay on Tuesday night, as an 121st-minute header knocked them out in extra-time.
That followed an equally as disappointing finale against Sunderland in the league, as they drew 2-2 at Anfield having led comfortably with a two-goal cushion.
That has taken the wind out of the Reds' sails after the initial buzz of sealing a place in the cup final and so, Klopp will be keen to see his side return to winning ways and recapture some momentum as they look to end the season strongly with some much-needed consistency.
They will surely see this as an ideal opportunity to do so, despite Villa's recent form, having enjoyed a very favourable record over this weekend's opponents in recent years - at Villa Park at least.
Their hopes will be boosted by the returns of a number of important forwards, who Klopp will anticipate can add some extra bite to their attacking line which has blown all too hot-and-cold in recent games.
Having not lost away at Villa since May 2011, including not conceding a goal on B6 since March 2013, Liverpool can ill-afford to return to Merseyside without the three points as their season teeters on the brink of mediocrity.
Team news:
Dejan Lovren and Joe Allen will both be unavailable for the Reds, with the Welsh midfielder confirmed to be "out for a while" with a shoulder injury and the club's medical team fearing his spell on the sidelines could last for around a month.
Lovren, meanwhile, could return for their Europa League Last 32 first-leg tie with FC Augsburg on Thursday but isn't yet fit enough to play in the West Midlands this weekend after tweaking a muscle problem in their draw with Sunderland a week ago.
Fellow centre-back Martin Skrtel is also out with a hamstring injury, despite having returned to the Melwood training pitches earlier this week, but on-loan defender Steven Caulker returns after missing the trip to West Ham with a back issue.
Attacking triumvirate Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi all made their returns from injury at the Boleyn Ground and could make their first league appearances since December 6, January 2, December 26 respectively.
Villa are dealing with a number of absentees, with striker Rudy Gestede, who scored twice in the previous meeting between the two sides earlier in the season, out with a hamstring injury.
Forwards Adama Traore (foot), Libor Kozak (ankle) and Jordan Ayew (suspension) are all out, with Gabriel Agbonlahor the most likely to lead the line.
Defensive midfielder Carlos Sanchez's hamstring injury keeps him sidelined, with Jack Grealish suffering from an ankle knock sustained in training, though Alan Hutton could return from a hamstring complaint.
Jordan Amavi (anterior cruciate ligament) remains a long-term absentee, as do Danny Ings and Joe Gomez (both ACL) for the visitors, whilst Aly Cissokho could face his former club, as could Christian Benteke - who swapped Villa for Liverpool in a £32.5 million switch last summer.
Head-to-head:
At Villa Park: Aston Villa - 39 wins, Draws - 21, Liverpool - 33 wins.
At Anfield: Liverpool - 56 wins, Draws - 19, Aston Villa - 17 wins.
Overall: Liverpool - 90 wins, Draws - 40, Aston Villa - 56 wins.
Last meeting: Liverpool 3-2 Aston Villa, Barclays Premier League, 26th September 2015.
Recent form:
Aston Villa
Form in Premier League: WDDLD
Form in all competitions: WDLLW
Liverpool
Form in Premier League: DLWLD
Form in all competitions: LDLDL
Match facts:
Liverpool have only lost once in their last 17 trips to Villa Park, winning 11 and drawing five. That single loss was a 1-0 defeat in May 2011.
The Reds' record of 25 Premier League wins over Villa is more than their win ratio against any other club.
In five of their last six trips to the Midlands to face Villa, Liverpool have kept a clean sheet.
Liverpool have conceded 14 goals during their last six games and have failed to score in half of those matches, winning just one.
Villa's tally of eight points over the last six games is as many as they earned in their opening 20 league games.
However, the Villans have only taken four points (D4, L8) from 12 games against the current top 10. Only Sunderland's record of two points is worse.
Liverpool have yet to lose a league game this term in which they have gone ahead, whereas Aston Villa are yet to win from a losing position.
Liverpool have conceded a joint-league-high eight goals from corners - two more than they conceded in the whole of 2014-15.
Roberto Firmino has scored five goals in his last five league matches after scored just once in his previous 17 appearances.
Villa, who are four games unbeaten at Villa Park, have not gone five unbeaten at home in the competition since 1 January 2015.
Man in the middle:
Neil Swarbrick is the nominated referee for Sunday's encounter, taking charge of just his fourth game of 2016, and his 80th top-flight clash overall.
The 50-year-old has dished out 277 yellow cards and just seven red cards in his 79 matches so far, and has only taken charge of seven games involving Liverpool previously.
One of those was Villa's infamous 3-1 Merseyside win over the Reds back in December 2012, with Liverpool only having won one league game in which Swarbrick has been the match official (D2, L4) - although he was the man in the middle for their FA Cup win at home to Exeter City last month.
The Lancashire-born ref was promoted to the Select Group of Referees in 2011, but has not yet overseen a game more high profile than a Premier League match.