Liverpool’s wretched 2017 continued at the weekend after they went down 2-0 at relegation-threatened Hull on Saturday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had earlier in the day seen Chelsea go 13 points clear of them with victory over Arsenal, so would’ve known prior to kick-off the importance of their clash with the Tigers at the KCOM Stadium.

However, goals in each half from first Alfred N’Diaye and then Oumar Niasse secured a deserved victory for Marco Silva’s men, who in turn moved to within a point of safety after a fifth win of the campaign.

For Liverpool though, it continued their miserable start to 2017, which has seen them win just one of their ten games in all competitions, and none of their five Premier League matches.

It’s form which has seen them go out of both cup competitions and drop out of the top four, and they’ll need an incredible run between now and May to get close to runaway leaders Chelsea.

They’ve certainly got the players to go on a long winning streak, and here are TWO that must start every game between now and May if they are to catch Chelsea…

Adam Lallana

Adam Lallana has this season become an integral player for both club and country.

The England international didn’t quite hit the expected heights in his first two seasons at Anfield, but he has flourished this term under Klopp, netting seven goals and laying on a further seven assists in 22 Premier League appearances.

Add in three goals for England this season, two of which coming in World Cup qualifiers, and the 28-year-old was rightly awarded the 2016 England Player of the Year award, after gone from being on the peripheries of the squad to an important member of the first team.

Lallana’s relentless energy and work-rate means he is a perfect fit for Klopp’s midfield, so keeping him fit and fresh for the rest of the campaign will be hugely important if Liverpool want to finish in the top four.

Sadio Mane

Liverpool have seriously struggled at the start of 2017, and there’s no coincidence that their drop in form took place while Sadio Mane was away on African Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.

The 24-year-old scored in the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Sunderland on January 2 before joining up with the national team, and he returned to Anfield just before their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 31.

Mane missed seven Liverpool games in the end, and Klopp’s men only won one of them, which itself was an unconvincing 1-0 success away at Plymouth Argyle in an FA Cup third round replay.

Obviously, when you take nine goals and four assists out a side for a long period of time, it is going to have an impact, but it wasn’t just Mane’s contributions that they missed, they missed his energy, his tenacity, and his ability to want to get at defenders and cause them issues.

The Senegalese international will likely need a bit of time to get back to full fitness after flying home immediately after Senegal’s defeat in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations, but once he gets there, he’ll be one of the first names on the teamsheet for the rest of the season.