Eight months after Liverpool came dangerously close to a historically rare quadruple, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp is fighting to prevent his team's problematic season from collapsing.

After suffering a humiliating 3-0 loss at Brighton on Saturday, Klopp's team is now languishing in ninth place in the Premier League, which has caused some soul-searching at Anfield.

In advance of Tuesday's FA Cup third-round rematch between Liverpool and Wolves, AFP Sport examines the causes of the slump.

Liverpool's quest for four titles last season came to a disappointing end as Real Madrid won the Champions League final and Manchester City won the Premier League crown.

And this season, Liverpool is still paying for that historic bid, which helped the club win the FA and League Cup finals.

Following a 63-game season in which the Reds played every possible match in all four competitions, Klopp acknowledged on Friday that Liverpool had displayed signs of being mentally and physically fatigued.

"It must have (had an effect). We can say that now," Klopp said when asked about Liverpool's fatigue.

"There was no book written about it, there was no data about it, because nobody played that many games before."

The most visible sign of the debilitating effect of Liverpool's marathon season has been in the Anfield treatment room – crammed with injured stars throughout this term.

Klopp's forward line for the match at Brighton was missing a host of stars with Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino all absent, while centre-back Virgil van Dijk was also sidelined.

AGEING MIDFIELD

Klopp's desire for a frenetic game-plan based on relentlessly pressing Liverpool's opponents into submission is best suited to a midfield packed with energetic workaholics.

For most of his reign at Liverpool that is exactly what he got from Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner as his "heavy metal" philosophy delivered Premier League and Champions League glory.

Now, however, Liverpool are beginning to pay the price for failing to freshen up a midfield that is showing its age.

Henderson (32), Milner (37), Thiago Alcantara (31) and Fabinho (29) are unable to consistently carry out Klopp's demands, while the younger Naby Keita and Curtis Jones have been sidelined by injuries.

"It's a real low point for us as a team," Liverpool captain Henderson said. "We are low on confidence. You can see that when we're playing, the energy levels are low. We need to stay together."

MISSING MANE

Sadio Mane's value to Liverpool was never in doubt but it is still surprising how much the Senegal star has been missed since joining Bayern Munich last year.

With Mane roaming across Liverpool's front line there was more than one dangerman for opponents to focus on, allowing acres of space for Mohamed Salah to exploit.

Mane's lethal finishing, creativity and work-rate made him indispensable and Klopp has yet to replace his output despite bringing in Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo in the past 12 months.

Netherlands forward Gakpo arrived from PSV Eindhoven earlier this month despite interest from Manchester United after shining at the World Cup.

The 23-year-old is without a goal in his first two appearances, but Klopp will hope he can fill Mane's boots in time.

TROUBLE AT THE TOP

Klopp has been coy when asked about the impact of the Fenway Sports Group's decision to put Liverpool up for sale in November, but there is no doubt the potential for a boardroom change has created uncertainty at Anfield.

Although US-based FSG sanctioned Klopp's £40-million move for Gakpo, it was notable that the German has quietly grumbled about Liverpool's transfer investment compared with their main Premier League rivals.

Klopp reportedly wanted Aurelien Tchouameni in the close season but the France midfielder went to Real Madrid instead, while Borussia Dortmund's England star Jude Bellingham is understood to be another top target.

Source: Supersport.com