For Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, it used to be as reliably consistent as the passing of winter to spring. And, for their opponents, it was often a frightening experience.
Just ask Pep Guardiola. "They scare me," said the Manchester City boss back in 2018. "They’re dangerous, I mean it."
The Catalan, of course, was referring to the famed Liverpool forward line of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane that terrorised defences for five seasons, starting 139 games together as an attacking triumvirate.
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Mane's departure last summer to Bayern Munich brought that chapter to a close, with Firmino's imminent exit at the end of the season a further indication of how the Reds have moved on.
And, in truth, with the trio having lined up together only five times in 63 games during last season's quadruple attempt, the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz had already gone some way to breaking up the established order.
Klopp, though, has found it difficult to find the right blend this season, not helped by injuries to Firmino, Jota and Diaz, along with the attempts to integrate big-money signings Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo while offering opportunities up front for Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott.
There have been moments when the attack has clicked, most notably with the record-breaking romps against Bournemouth, Manchester United and Rangers. But that Liverpool have failed to score in seven away games this season underlines why they are out of all the cup competitions and struggling to finish in the top four.
Of course, the travails elsewhere in the team - particularly the midfield - have contributed to issues further upfield. But the inconsistency in Liverpool's forward line can be partly explained by the remarkable lack of continuity this season.
In 40 games, Liverpool have fielded 23 different attacking line-ups. Some have seen a change of formation, such as the four-pronged forward line at Real Madrid last Wednesday or the employment of two up front. Predominantly, though, the Reds have stuck to the usual three-man attack favoured by Klopp with a regular rotation of personnel.
Only four forwards lines have managed to play more than twice together, with three of that quartet having proven extremely profitable.
The most fielded is that of Diaz, Firmino and Salah which started six games together during the opening weeks of the season before Diaz's injury, plundering nine goals in the process.
However, they are likely to soon be surpassed in terms of appearances by the trio of Nunez on the left, Gakpo down the middle and Salah on the right which has plundered 12 goals in five games together, although admittedly half of that total came in the 7-0 romp against Manchester United earlier this month.
Nunez, Firmino and Salah have seven goals in three games having linked well in the build-up to the World Cup, while the temporary attack of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nunez and Salah notched two goals in three games over the Christmas and New Year period.
The three most successful forward lines have scored 26 goals in 14 games together this season. The other 20 have managed just 21 goals in 26, indicating Klopp knows his most potent combinations. He just hasn't, for varying reasons, been able to field them as often as possible.
There will most likely be further variations over the final 12 Premier League games with Diaz poised to make his long-awaited comeback and Jota getting up to speed. Both, though, are certain to have to wait until next season before regaining their best form after so long sidelined.
In the meantime, while they will most likely not possess the longevity of Liverpool's most famed forward trio, the front line of Gakpo, Nunez and Salah appears the most capable of giving the Reds a fighting chance of closing the gap to the top four.
What's clear, though, is Klopp needs to find his favoured blends for next season to return the Reds to their free-scoring former selves.
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