Liverpool's hard-worked victory at Sunderland in midweek has narrowed the gap on the top five.
That's a small step toward revival for Arne Slot and his side, but it also tells all of how Liverpool have fallen by the wayside this season, so far removed from last year's title-winning level.
Van-Dijk-Gravenberch-Liverpool-Konate-Wirz-Salah
When it comes to first-team selection, Slot prefers to keep a core group together. One of the biggest frustrations of his Liverpool tenure, this year and last, has been his treatment of fringe players.
For example, with the Reds shorn of depth at right-back, he was still against handing Calvin Ramsey a shot against the Black Cats, instead going for veteran midfielder Wataru Endo, who injured himself during the match and now might not play again this season.
Another star at risk of sitting the remainder of the season on the sidelines would be Harvey Elliott, whose loan spell at Aston Villa has yielded rotten returns.
The latest on Harvey Elliott's Liverpool future
With Slot in charge at Anfield, it hardly seems likely that Elliott will find a prosperous future in a Liverpool shirt.
Loaned out to Aston Villa last summer with an obligation to buy dependent on conditions, Unai Emery has been reluctant to give the English playmaker minutes, with Elliott playing 13 minutes of Premier League football since September.
Harvey Elliott Graphic
He's still only 22, but unwanted at Liverpool and Villa Park, the attacking midfielder is in a spot of bother at this early stage of his career.
Elliott has holes in his game, for sure, but he's technically gifted and wonderfully creative, with former Liverpool U18s head coach Neil Critchley once saying he's capable of "real bits of magic on the ball".
Moreover, Jurgen Klopp suggested that his biggest regret at the Anfield helm was not having given the England U21 superstar more minutes, but that's not something that Slot or Emery have subscribed to.
And the Liverpool fans? Many have been frustrated by the way Elliott has been treated, and now, to Anfield's exasperation, it's happening again with another much-loved star.
Liverpool talent is getting the "Elliott treatment"
Liverpool have been woeful for large stretches this season, with one of the many problems being that Slot's stars aren't working hard enough.
That cannot be said for Curtis Jones, who puts 110% into every action.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones
Even so, the England international is entering troubling waters; having only started ten times in the Premier League this season, the 25-year-old was linked with a move away in January.
And this despite many viewing the press-resistant, ball-playing talent to have done enough to warrant a starting role over Alexis Mac Allister, who has been bitterly below expectations this year.
Jones has not started any of Liverpool's past four top-flight outings, even though he's one of the crispest and most progressive passers in the division, someone who could connect the thirds together and restore some of the fluency that has been lacking this year.
Liverpool writer Sam McGuire has even said that Jones "is getting the Harvey Elliott treatment", boasting unique qualities that have endeared him to the Reds fanbase yet still seeing those tools utilised sparingly.
Curtis Jones' Minutes in the Premier League
Season
25/26
24/25
23/24
22/23
21/22
20/21
19/20
Data via Transfermarkt
Sadly, Jones will have assessed his playing time in the Premier League and determined that he needs more. After all, he is entering his prime and has a range of skills that would see him thrive for one of Europe's elite.
Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur were both interested in snapping him up this winter, but Liverpool were against letting one of their first-team regulars depart at the season's midpoint with options already few and far between.
Curtis-Jones-Salah
Though fans would hope to see Jones ply his trade on Merseyside for the rest of his career, his contract is up for expiry in less than 18 months, and it's clear that he is warming to the idea of trying his hand somewhere new.
It might feel like Liverpool can't let that happen, but Slot doesn't seem keen on giving the £42m-rated midfielder a starring role in the engine room.
With that in mind, it looks like the Anfield side have found themselves their next version of Elliott, with both players likely to leave this year.
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