If Liverpool lose their fifth game in a row in Bulgaria on Wednesday night against Ludogorets Razgrad their chances of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages will be all but over.
Brendan Rodgers's side are in desperate need of an upturn in fortunes after managing just one shot on target - Rickie Lambert's goal inside 90 seconds - in the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
Back in Europe's elite competition for the first time in five years, Liverpool got off to a winning start by scraping a 2-1 victory in their opening fixture against Ludogorets at Anfield. All three goals came in the final 10 minutes, with Steven Gerrard's 93rd-minute penalty coming just moments after Ludogorets appeared to have snatched a point.
Since then, the Reds have lost three European games in a row - one away at Basel and both matches against defending champions Real Madrid - without finding the back of the net.
That leaves them third in Group B, level on points with Ludogorets and three behind Basel. Madrid are top with a 100% record.
If Liverpool do qualify for the last 16, they will become just the seventh team in Champions League history to advance from the group stage after accruing three points or fewer from their first four games. The last club to do so was Stuttgart in 2009-10.
Mario Balotelli scored the first goal in the September reverse of this tie, just one of two goals he has scored for the Reds, and he could again play on Wednesday.
The Italian sat out the trip to Selhurst Park on Sunday, but was back at training today and might get the nod ahead of Lambert up front with Daniel Sturridge out until the New Year.
It will be Bulgarian champions Ludogorets's first home match against an English club and with a trip to the Bernabeu to come on matchday six, they know that they realistically have to win this match to have any chance of causing a shock and reaching the knockouts.
They will be able to welcome back Yordan Minev, who scored the last-gasp winner against Basel at the Stadion Vasil Levski on matchday three but had to sit out the 4-0 loss in Switzerland last time through suspension.
Ludogorets:
Form in Champions League: LWLLWL
Form in all competitions: WWWLWD
Possible starting lineup: Stoyanov, Minev, Moti, Terziev, Caicara, Alexnadrov, Espinho, Abalo, Dyakob, Marcelinho, Bezjak
Liverpool:
Form in Champions League: WLLL
Form in all competitions: DWLLLL
Possible starting lineup: Mignolet; Johnson, Toure, Skrtel, Moreno; Can, Gerrard; Sterling, Coutinho, Lallana, Balotelli
Sports Mole says: 0-1
Pascal Lemesre
