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da prosport bet： Liverpool need a favour in the Premier League title race.
They are second in the league and have two games remaining against Newcastle United and Wolves. Their 91 points is historic for a second-placed side but, as it is, their destiny is out of their hands.
Manchester City are on top and know two wins from their final two games will see them crowned champions.
But there are three men who could ultimately send the title towards Anfield, and all three used to be on the payroll on Merseyside.
Football FanCast takes a look at the three ex-Reds who could prove pivotal to their title charge.
Brendan Rodgers
The last manager to mastermind a title push, Rodgers went within a Steven Gerrard slip of ending over 20 years of hurt at Anfield in 2013-14.
Now at Leicester City, he has already built the Foxes into a slick unit, featuring the playmaking talents of Youri Tielemans and James Maddison and the lightning pace of Jamie Vardy.
This Monday, Rodgers’ men will take on Manchester City, aware that a victory, coupled with a Liverpool win over Newcastle, would put the Reds’ destiny back in their own hands.
Indeed, Leicester have history with City. They beat them on Boxing Day and also took them to a penalty shootout in the League Cup in December after a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes.
They have been in fine form, too, beating Arsenal 3-0 last weekend and tasting defeat just once in their last six outings.
Another showing like the one that dismantled the Gunners would be very well received on Merseyside.
Rafael Benitez
Revered at Anfield, Benitez will welcome Liverpool to St James’ Park on Saturday evening.
It is the trickiest test for the Reds in their run-in, on paper. Wolves are a difficult opponent, of course, but Liverpool will play at home on the final day of the season and it is almost unthinkable to imagine them losing.
But it is conceivable that Benitez might just do them a favour on Saturday.
The Magpies are long since safe and cannot finish higher than 11th.
This, then, is a free hit for the club, who will hope to end the season on a high with a win over already-relegated Fulham on the final day.
Of the two encounters, it is more likely that Benitez will prioritise the clash with the Cottagers.
And that could mean a rest for a few players against the Reds.
Newcastle are not expected to become just the second team this season to beat Jurgen Klopp’s side. And that could well play into the Reds’ hands.
Conor Coady
The Wolves centre-back has been a revelation this season.
A rock in the heart of Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence, he has been a key part of a team that has conceded just 44 goals this season, fewer than both Manchester United and Arsenal. That statistic is all the more staggering when one remembers that Wolves were only promoted last season.
An ex-Liverpool player – he came through the academy at the club, spending nine years with the Reds – Coady could well wreck his old side’s dreams on the final day.
A clean sheet for Wolves, after all, would surely see City anointed as champions.
But if Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane can find a way past the forgotten Anfield old boy, they have an incredible chance of pipping their title rivals to the crown.
It may be inadvertent, then, but Coady may well hold the keys to Liverpool’s potential title triumph.