Liverpool will take on Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon with more than a little sense of pathos, despite constructing a seven-match winning streak in the Premier League and keeping their top-four hopes alive.
It's the end of an era at Anfield, as experienced quartet Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all set to depart; Firmino and Milner were instrumental in the creation of manager Jurgen Klopp's dynasty on Merseyside, while the latter pair's influence over the past several years has been inhibited by incessant injury woes.
Anfield will be in full voice and the players will be galvanised by the occasion, which might just come in handy against Unai Emery's Villa, who have won nine of their past 13 matches in the top-flight having undergone a drastic resurgence following the Spaniard's appointment in October.
With just two games left, Liverpool must secure victory if they are to keep their hopes of qualifying for next year's Champions League intact; Newcastle United are four points ahead in third, while fourth-placed Manchester United are one point above their historic rivals having played a game fewer heading into the weekend.
Should Liverpool start Roberto Firmino vs Aston Villa?
Of the aforementioned departees, Firmino has been the catalyst for change at Liverpool, signing from Hoffenheim for £29m in 2015 while under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers, preceding Klopp's arrival by several months.
Regarded as a "stalwart" with "touches like velvet" by Reds icon Jamie Carragher, the 31-year-old Brazilian joined the ranks at Anfield when the walls were stripped and the stadium was tarnished by years of instability and a steady decline following the club's successes in the Champions League and FA Cup in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
The quintessential false nine, Firmino has scored 109 goals and supplied 79 further assists from 360 appearances, winning the whole gamut of silverware under Klopp's rule, notably including the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
But the £180k-per-week gem should not be unleashed on sentiment alone against the Lions. Having missed the past six matches due to injury and now confirmed to be fit, Firmino has plundered 11 goals and five assists this season despite only starting on 17 occasions across all competitions.
As per FBref, the "special" star – as he was once hailed by his German manager – ranks among the top 7% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals, the top 3% for assists, the top 1% for progressive passes and the top 4% for tackles per 90.
Villa, who are flourishing and only sit outside of European contention themselves on goal difference, will fight tirelessly to upset the narrative and enhance their own prospects of success, but with the prolific Firmino taking centre-stage, his teammates' chances of finding opportune moments will arrive with greater frequency.
Cody Gakpo has been excellent of late, signing at a difficult time in January for £35m from PSV and initially struggling to find his feet, now thriving after scoring six goals and three assists; however, considering he is ostensibly viewed as Firmino's successor, deploying the distinguished Brazilian might work to greater effect on this particular occasion.
There is no doubt, Firmino is a Liverpool "legend", as heralded by talkSPORT's Darren Ambrose, and he might just have one last chance to etch a further page into his rich book of history at Anfield with a strong performance against Villa.