As Liverpool gear up for the first leg of their last-16 showdown with Inter Milan in the Champions League, their Premier League rivals have already effectively booked their spot in the quarter-finals.
Manchester City produced a ruthless display in the away leg of their clash with Sporting CP on Tuesday, romping to a 5-0 win in Lisbon.
It means barring a miracle at the Etihad Stadium on March 9, City are in the hat.
There's potential for that progress to have an impact on the Premier League title race too.
Although City have a quality squad, following the sale of Ferran Torres in January and the departure of Sergio Aguero ahead of the campaign, it is a smaller group of senior players than Pep Guardiola has been used to working with.
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As a result, City will surely rest some fatigued figures when Sporting visit and that means the fixtures around that second leg may see the Premier League leaders in better condition than they would have been otherwise.
That may not be the best news for Liverpool, as two of City's most testing fixtures sandwich that Sporting fixture.
Before it, they welcome rivals Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium.
Although the Red Devils continue to toil under Ralf Rangnick, they have a brilliant record at Eastlands. United have won four and drawn one of their last six matches at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions.
At the other end of the week, City travel to south London to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
While Palace have been inconsistent throughout the campaign, they are one of only two teams to have beaten City in the Premier League this season, turning in an excellent counter-attacking display at the Etihad.
Over the same weekends, Liverpool are at home to Champions League-chasing West Ham United and then make the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion after they welcome Inter to Anfield for the second leg.
With a nine-point gap to bridge at the top, albeit with a game in hand on the defending champions, Liverpool require some slips from City somewhere.
United and Palace both have the potential to cause issues for Guardiola's sky blue juggernaut. The evidence in recent encounters is there.
Given City's determination to win the Champions League for the first time, had the Sporting tie been tighter that match at the Etihad may have demanded more attention from the Manchester outfit.
Instead, Guardiola can field a weakened team and put extra emphasis on those two top-flight encounters.
It makes the road to the summit of the Premier League even more challenging for Liverpool, although there is nothing to indicate suggest Jurgen Klopp 's team are ready to give up the chase.
