When Liverpool face Leicester City on Monday night, it would have been 16 days since their last match – a 2-0 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.

The Reds got back to winning ways in the Premier League thanks to two Sadio Mane goals against Spurs on February 11, although their exits from the League Cup and FA Cup within four days of each other last month means that they have a while to wait to try and build upon that excellent result.

Jurgen Klopp’s men only have the Premier League to worry about now after a dreadful January, which saw them win just one of their nine games in all competitions, and indeed fall out of title contention after picking up just three points from their four league games.

It now means that the top four is the aim for the Reds, and a return to the Champions League after a two-year absence, although they will need to improve on some things between now and May to fend off the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for a top four spot.

So, with just 13 games of the season left, here are THREE things that Klopp and his Liverpool side must improve ahead of the run in…

Their defending

Clearly, Liverpool’s main issue this term has been their defence, with the Reds conceding 30 goals in their 25 Premier League games, the most of the top six sides in the table.

There concerns are no more exemplified by the uncertainty surrounding the goalkeeping situation, with both Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet getting extended runs in the team, only for neither to have completely nailed down the number one spot.

Add in the injuries to the impressive Joel Matip, as well as the below-par displays of his replacement Ragnar Klavan, and Klopp’s men have at times looked very suspect at the back.

However, there are foundations to build on, given that they kept clean sheets at home to both Manchester City and Tottenham in the last few months, and earlier in the campaign when the frontmen went quiet, they kept out both Manchester United and Southampton to preserve a point.

Despite this, there are still huge question marks about the Liverpool back four, be it defending set pieces or dealing with the aerial threat, as well as against pace and from out wide, so Klopp needs to get his defence organised and difficult to break down if they are to finish in the top four.

Their over-reliance on Mane

At the start of the campaign, many were unsure about the £34 million the club had spent on Southampton’s Sadio Mane, as it was a mighty price-tag for someone who’d only been in English football for two seasons.

However, it’s clear that, during Philippe Coutinho’s spell on the sidelines, as well as Mane’s time away from the side during the African Cup of Nations, the 24-year-old Senegalese international is the one that makes the Reds tick.

It was he who helped keep things going upfront during Coutinho’s absence in December, netting twice as well as laying on two assists, and it was he that got the winning goal in the derby against Everton on December 19.

And during his time away on international duty last month, Klopp’s men played seven games in all competitions, and won only one of them – an unconvincing 1-0 success at Plymouth in an FA Cup replay.

It wasn’t just his goals that they missed – it was his energy and enthusiasm, his desire to get at defenders and get into the box, and the way he lifts everyone around him, especially as Roberto Firmino and Coutinho himself were far from their best while Mane was away.

It’s no surprise that it was Mane who bagged both goals against Tottenham the other week, his first home start since returning from the AFCON, but they can’t just rely on him to lift everyone when things are tough, others must stand up as well, otherwise the Reds may struggle to finish in the top four.

Get more creative

While their record against the so-called lesser sides needs improving, one factor behind which will help solve that will be if the Reds start getting a bit more creative in the final third.

This seems ridiculous given that they are the Premier League’s joint top-scorers this term, but their last 12 or so league games have seen them create much less than they did at the start of the campaign.

Up until their clash with Bournemouth on December 4, when they were just a point behind Chelsea, Klopp’s men created an average of 16 chances per game, and occasionally created more than 20 in a match (they did so on four occasions).

However, in their 12 games since their 2-0 victory over Sunderland, the Reds have averaged just 11 chances per game, including a season-low of five against both Manchester City and Chelsea.

Clearly, Coutinho’s injury and Mane’s absence will have something to do with it, as has been proven in the last few games, where they created 11 against Hull and 15 against Spurs.

Nonetheless, those numbers are still down on their early-season games, and that’s when Liverpool were at their very best – taking opposition defences apart and consistently asking questions of them.

We haven’t seen that much in recent times, for one reason or another, but if they can get back to their early-season level, they should have enough to finish in the top four.