Liverpool legend Lucas Leiva believes his former employers can win the Premier League title this season if they get ahead of Manchester City in the coming weeks.
Pep Guardiola's side are six points clear of the Reds having played a game more.
Lucas' prediction confirms Guardiola's fear, as the Spaniard believes City need to win all 10 of their remaining fixtures to be crowned champions for the fourth time in five years.
City were 14 points clear of Liverpool after their home win against Chelsea in January, but Jurgen Klopp's side have won seven consecutive league games since to cut the gap.
And Lucas, who played for Liverpool between 2007 and 2017, believes his old club will go on to win the title if they can reach the summit before the run-in.
Can Liverpool win the Premier League title? Let us know in the comments below!
"Nobody expected that Liverpool would be in this position by March," Lucas told The Athletic.
"City were ahead by miles. But it shows the mentality of Liverpool and how difficult the Premier League is.
"Now the league is open, completely open and I have the feeling that if Liverpool gets in front, they will not drop any more points."
Speaking ahead of City's 4-1 win against rivals Manchester United on Sunday, Guardiola urged his players to win all their remaining fixtures.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager believes anything less than a perfect finish would leave his team vulnerable to Klopp's chasers.
"It is six points but one game more," said Guardiola. "Eleven games to finish the Premier League, the players we spoke to the team, we have to win all the games."
Lucas was also keen to praise Klopp in his recent interview, highlighting the impact he's had on Liverpool's fortunes since his arrival in October 2015.
The German has won the Premier League, Champions League, EFL Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup during his six-and-a-half-year reign.
"First of all, he’s a fantastic human being - a great man, very honest," added Lucas. "I learned a lot in the two years I spent with him. I took a lot of the advice he gave me.
"As soon as he arrived at the club, we could feel, we could smell, things were changing and that the great moments of Liverpool would be back."
Liverpool take on Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the prestigious competition.
The Reds boast a 2-0 lead heading into the tie and Lucas has backed them to make use of their home advantage and overcome the Italian champions.
"A unique feeling - just being there and having that experience, you can feel it," said Lucas when asked what it's like to play a European tie at Anfield.
"When you speak about Anfield and the Champions League the motivation the players already have is 10 per cent more because we know how beautiful it is."
