For a venue that is so often credited as a major factor in Liverpool's rich European heritage, Anfield has not been much of a haven of late.
It's nearly three years since the Reds last won a Champions League knockout tie at home, dating back to one of the most famous evenings in their history when Barcelona were dispatched 4-0 at the semi-final stage.
It's four games without a victory at Anfield for the Reds in the latter stages of the European Cup, a statistic that gets even more peculiar the more you delve into the reasons why.
READ MORE: 'He knew' - What Jurgen Klopp did after 2016 Europa League final defeat at Liverpool
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp confirms what will 'never happen' against Villarreal
In 2020, as the world hurtled towards the global COVID-19 pandemic, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid were controversially told to play the second leg of their last-16 tie at Anfield.
As many as 3,000 fans from the Spanish capital were permitted to fly into Merseyside with Madrid the worst-hit area of the continent at the time. A Parliamentary report would later state that at least 37 people died from the coronavirus because of the decision to allow that fixture to go ahead.
On a strange old evening on the pitch, a Jan Oblak-inspired performance helped Atletico to squeeze through at the expense of the then holders of the trophy, 3-2 on the night. "I spoke with Klopp a few days ago, he told me that the decision to play Liverpool-Atletico was a criminal act and I think he's right," the then Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti later said.
Twelve months later, with the world still in the grip of the pandemic, the decision was taken for Liverpool to play both legs of their last-16 tie with RB Leipzig at Budapest's Puskas Stadion. Back-to-back 2-0 wins over the Bundesliga outfit set out a quarter-final tie with Real Madrid that was drawn 0-0 after a 3-1 defeat in the Spanish capital.
And then this season, Liverpool's progress to the semi-final stage has been characterised by them getting the bulk of the legwork completed in the first leg of their ties with Inter and Benfica.
The Reds' only Anfield defeat this season, in fact, came against Inter in the last 16 when Lautaro Martinez's strike saw the Nerazzurri pilfer a 1-0 victory in February. A 3-3 draw was then played out in the last round with Benfica to send the Reds through 6-4 on aggregate.
Klopp, though, has always been acutely aware of the Anfield factor on European nights. It was something he attempted to tap into on the eve of what will be the third semi-final of his reign against Villarreal on Wednesday evening.
"We need the atmosphere, we need the performance, but it's a completely different game," Klopp said. "Barcelona's setup is completely different to what Villarreal is doing. We need to be on top of our game, I need to be on top of my game before and after the game as well.
"That is completely fine, it is the semi-final of the Champions League. If it is easy then something would be completely wrong."
He is correct to extol the virtues of his opponents on Wednesday night, even if there are several onlooking neutrals who place Liverpol as firm favourites for the tie as they go in search of their fourth European final under Klopp.
Unai Emery and his Yellow Submarine will surface on the banks of the Mersey with a collection of players who can best be described as Premier League cast-offs. That description may sound harsh at first, but it's an accurate one that speaks to the general largesse and profligacy of English football and its willingness to discard anything that does not instantly flourish.
Players like Etienne Capoue, Giovani Lo Celso, Serge Aurier, Francis Coquelin, Juan Foyth, Dani Parejo, Pervis Estupinan, Vicente Iborra and Arnaut Danjuma all have experience of the top flight in England, although there will be no reunion with Alberto Moreno due to injury.
It's fair to say that none of the above ever truly established themselves as Premier League stars, but they are now looking to realise their potential at El Madrigal.
But perhaps it is their manager, Emery, who best symbolises the wanton wastefulness of England's football culture. Generally viewed on these shores, unfairly, as something of a comedic figure for his 'good ebening' introductions when he dealt with the media, he was sacked for an inability to turn an Arsenal in transition into a real challenger, which is a task that would have been beyond many an elite manager.
Klopp himself is in no doubt about the quality of a counterpart who is a four-time Europa League holder, one who also dragged Arsenal to the final in 2019 in the same week Liverpool lifted the Champions League.
"Unai, when you watch his teams, looks like he is a detail-obsessed manager who prepares for all situations in the game and that is what his team executes, different ways to build up, press and react to different results," Klopp said on Tuesday. "It is all really impressive. Unai is a world-class coach and is doing a really good job there."
Klopp was not merely buttering up his Villarreal rival ahead of the big tie, he has watched on as the Spanish side have eliminated Bayern Munich and Juventus before them to reach the last four.
But any suggestion that they will be underestimated or overlooked by Liverpool was firmly shot down by their manager when he spoke to the media on Tuesday.
He said: "There might have been a little advantage in the last two games, maybe Juve or Bayern underestimated them but that will never happen to us."
A place in a third final of the season is beckoning to Klopp and his players, but there is a job to do first.
