Richard Buxton: Don’t look back, Klopp, Pep’s behind you

Liverpool are continuing to live rent-free inside Pep Guardiola's head.

All season long, Manchester City's suave Svengali has become preoccupied with events at Anfield in his efforts to deliver the first successful defence of an English Premier League champion in a decade.

                      EPL

LIVERPOOL

LEICESTER

His side are proving both ruthless and relentless on all fronts, with 28 goals plundered in the six games leading up to their trip to Newcastle United this morning (Singapore time).

City's machine keeps on ticking. The Reds, meanwhile, are in danger of starting to splutter.

A recent seven-goal thriller with Crystal Palace saw Juergen Klopp's champions-elect produce a performance from yesteryear. That year was 2014, rather than a title-winning vintage.

Scintillating football and slapstick defending left neutrals purring and the natives wincing.

Leicester City could not have asked for a better pathfinder heading into their own trip to Merseyside tomorrow morning.

A struggling Claude Puel may benefit from the most unlikely stroke of fortune since his current employers soared to the title on a 5,000-1 ticket.

Uncertainty over Virgil van Dijk's involvement plays into the hands of both the Foxes and City.

The Holland captain has been both an imposing and imperious presence that allayed any fears as Liverpool's defence succumbed to a catalogue of injuries in recent weeks.

He has continued to hold together a backline which would have ordinarily wilted under pressure, and often did in previous campaigns.

That reliability, however, now threatens to expose Klopp's over-reliance on van Dijk to mask the shortcomings of those around him.

The Kop roars in confidence at the sight of the statuesque centre-back in possession of the ball, while Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip leave them watching through their fingers.

Margins for error in the pair are far greater than van Dijk's record-setting displays have demonstrated.

His potential absence would see Liverpool's title credentials face its first genuine litmus test. Lose ground against Leicester without him and momentum swings back in City's favour.

Where they once led from the front, Guardola's side now do the same in efforts to claw back the deficit. Rather than following the leader, they challenge the leader to follow their lead.

Playing before their current title rivals in each of their next three league games adds a pressure which has the potential to be as much a blessing for them as much as it appears a curse.

A place in the League Cup final saw their clash with Everton brought forward to next week. Win at Goodison Park and a one-point gap becomes sustainable for more than mere days.

Should Liverpool fail to secure maximum points against a resurgent Manchester United on the same day, City's latest Wembley sojourn could become the backdrop for double jubilation.

Guardiola knows that his players cannot afford to slip up between now and the end of the season.

Preventable back-to-back defeats last month surrendered impetus in the title race. Another would afford Liverpool further breathing space in their remaining 15 league games.

Pole position, similarly, sits unevenly on Klopp's side since losing at the Etihad Stadium at the turn of the year closed the gap to four points where a double-figure advantage once beckoned.

Guardiola's obsession with his direct challenger has now become two-fold.

Whoever blinks first will decide which direction of the M57 motorway the EPL title will travel.