Liverpool Football Club have had a pretty good 10 days. First they ousted Real Madrid from the Champions’ League. Then they walloped Manchester United at Old Trafford. On Wednesday, Rafael Benitez signed a five-year contract extension. On Thursday, Steven Gerrard’s assault charges were dropped. The ducks, as they say, are in a row. And just in time for Aston Villa’s Sunday visit.

That Liverpool are a better side than Villa is obvious. As they demonstrated last weekend, they can dismantle any opponent when Gerrard and Fernando Torres are healthy and confident.

But might they be a little too comfortable at the moment? With all the good feeling that’s been shared at Anfield over the past few days, might the Reds be vulnerable, especially at home?

The fact is, whenever Liverpool have compiled an impressive streak of matches this season, they’ve managed to blow it all apart with a poor result. Whenever they’ve appeared on the cusp of making a real run at the Premier League title, they’ve shot themselves in the foot.

For example, back-to-back wins over Manchester United and Marseille in September were followed by a dismal 0-0 draw at home to Stoke City. Their February 1 win over Chelsea was followed by a 1-0 loss to Everton in the FA Cup. And just a few weeks ago, the impressive 1-0 win against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu was succeeded by a 2-0 embarrassment at lowly Middlesbrough.

Sure, it might be clutching at straws. But facts are facts. And the reality is that Liverpool are seemingly unable to take that extra step, to win that extra match, to put that decisive run of wins together at a key time in the season.

That said, they’ve performed remarkably well against their rivals in the top-four. It’s against the likes of Stoke, Boro and Fulham that Liverpool have stumbled. And given Villa’s recent drop-off in performance, you might as well lump them in with the latter group.

But for Villa to take anything out of the match, they’ll have be in the mood to really get stuck in. O’Neill will have to revert to his 4-5-1 formation, clog the midfield and hope to nick one on the counter. This is what’s worked for him before, and it’s exactly what’s undone Liverpool in the past.

It’s been a love-in at Anfield recently. And for good reason. But if Villa can exploit Liverpool’s new-found coziness and get to them early, the result might just be the opposite of what is currently anticipated on Merseyside.

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