Liverpool on cusp of delivering Tottenham and Aston Villa hammer blows and achieving new main aim

Liverpool need just one more point to effectively qualify for next season's Europa League.

The Reds are still firmly in the hunt to make it into the Champions League for a seventh successive season. Having been in underwhelming form for much of the season, a run of six straight victories - and an eight-match unbeaten run - means that Jurgen Klopp's side are now four points outside of the Premier League top four.

Yet the Liverpool manager has conceded on several occasions that it's unlikely that his side will catch either Manchester United or Newcastle United. Klopp said last month: “It’s not that we started the season and said if we can qualify for the Europa League it would be fantastic, but the season taught us a few things, and that’s absolutely fine. If it’s Europa League, it’s Europa League.”

Not being in the Champions League will be a blow to Liverpool financially. But Klopp is being pragmatic about the situation. The Europa League is better than the Europa Conference League - and not being in a European competition altogether.

And should the Reds earn a draw against Leicester City tonight, they'll all but be in the Europa League for 2023-24. Teams who finish in fifth and sixth-place in the Premier League will earn qualification, with Liverpool and Brighton occupying the respective berths.

A point at the King Power Stadium will take Klopp's troops to 63 points. That will see them move six points ahead of seventh-placed Tottenham Hotspur and eighth-placed Aston Villa with two matches of the season remaining.

Although Spurs and Villa could finish level on 63 points, Liverpool's goal difference is far superior. The Reds are currently on +25 while Tottenham are on +6 and Villa on +4. In truth, it is highly unlikely that either a 19-goal or 21-goal swing will occur in the final two games.

Meanwhile, a win for the Reds at Leicester will definitely see them book their spot in next campaign’s Europa League. It’ll also mean that the pressure is cranked up on Man Utd and Newcastle, although the pair will have played one fixture fewer.