Jurgen Klopp might have already dropped two Liverpool selection hints for Atalanta clash

Liverpool will have to produce their latest European miracle if they're to keep their dreams alive. They know all about them. AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Saint-Etienne are all etched into the Anfield annals. The Reds will hope that Atalanta is the latest name to be added.

Jurgen Klopp's men make the trip to Italy trailing their Europa League quarter-final 3-0 after a sobering first-leg defeat at Anfield last week. And to compound their misery, Liverpool's chances of being crowned Premier League champions suffered a hammer blow as they were defeated 1-0 by Crystal Palace. They're now two points adrift of leaders Manchester City with six games remaining.

In the space of a week, having also been held to a 2-2 draw at Manchester United, Liverpool's aspirations of winning a treble in Klopp's final campaign are in peril. The Reds have overachieved this term, there's no doubt about it, although being so close to winning three trophies shifted ambitions. However, given the lengthy injury issues that Liverpool have had to negotiate this term, they appear to have finally caught up.

After the Palace reverse, Klopp was asked if fatigue was finally setting in. And the Anfield boss suggested that Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister might have played too many minutes in recent weeks.

"Did Wataru and Macca now play a little bit too much in the last few weeks?" said Klopp. "Maybe, they were the two most-used [players], especially Macca. The other guys came back from injury."

In truth, it's easy to understand why Endo and Mac Allister have featured so prominently. Endo is Liverpool's only out-and-out defensive midfielder able to feature in the No.6 role. After settling into life on Merseyside, the Japan international displayed exactly why Klopp was more than happy to have signed him for just £16.3 million after being snubbed by Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. However, in the past three games, Endo’s output has dropped, culminating in being withdrawn at half-time against Palace.

Mac Allister, meanwhile, was rightly awarded the club's Player of the Month for March. Since being moved into more of an advanced role, having screened the defence for a significant period after joining from Brighton last summer, he's become a talismanic presence. Yet he's featured in every minute of Liverpool's previous six matches and it's scarcely a surprise if the Argentina international is enervated.

As a consequence, it gives Klopp a quandary for the reverse clash against Atalanta. In normal circumstances, Endo and Mac Allister would be due a breather. However, that would leave perhaps only Curtis Jones as the option who could feature in the No.6 position. Yet if the pair do play, the risk is that they face further burnout - and that could mean a missed opportunity to pounce should Man City or Arsenal slip up in the title race.

Klopp has plenty to weigh up when it comes to his team selection. Does he go for the jugular or does he keep in mind that Liverpool travel to Fulham on Sunday? Endo and Mac Allister's roles will certainly need mulling over.