The FA Cup draw pitted Liverpool against either Bristol City or Shrewsbury Town in the fourth round. It means the Reds can go after a historic Treble.
Things could have been a lot tougher, of course. There were plenty of Premier League sides in the draw and it was entirely possible that the Reds would face a real challenge.
And because of the timing of the round, that would surely have meant an exit.
The fourth round takes place between the 24th and 27th of this month. Given that the Reds face Wolves on the 23r, just four days after a game against Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp will almost certainly play a weakened side in the round.
Now, he did do the same in the third round, of course, and Liverpool won with what you could generously call a third-string. But the chances of that team defeating a second Premier League side – and one that isn’t battling an intense inferiority complex – are slim.
Liverpool surely would have exited the cup and any dreams of the Treble would die with that.
However, you would back that team to beat either Shrewsbury or Bristol City. And if they do, the Treble is surely on.
The Treble dream
The Reds are on course to hit a problem soon. Their lead in the title ‘race’ is such that motivation may soon become an issue and they could battle the problem of switching mentality week to week.
For if you’re not having to go all-out in the league, suddenly getting up for the Champions League is tough. That’s a problem Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich famously faced.
But extra games with importance – like the FA Cup – would help that. Even more, the cup and those Treble dreams could take precedence over the league if Liverpool wrap up the title early. We may even see Klopp resting players in the league to go after the cup.
That should provide the extra motivation needed to push through until the end of the season – in all competitions. That couldn’t have happened with a tough fourth-round draw.
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