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The contrast could hardly be greater. From the biggest (if not necessarily the best) contest in English football, to an unwanted FA Cup replay against a mid-table League Two side.

Yet while the natural inclination might be to treat the visit of Exeter City to Anfield as something of a comedown, the reality is that for Liverpool cup competitions are what really matter now. They look increasingly as though they will define their season.

Defeat to Manchester United on Sunday would have been painful in any context, but the damage it did to the Reds’ already-ailing top four bid looks irreparable. An eight-point gap is big enough at the best of times; when you’re as inconsistent, brittle and goal-shy as Liverpool are, it looks unbridgeable.

Jurgen Klopp’s downbeat demeanour after Sunday’s game suggests he feels similarly. “The space is pretty big between us and the top four,” Klopp told Match of the Day. “If we want to go there, we have to win games. That’s the only way.”

Unarguable logic, as ever. Yet with resources stretched, and consistent performances hard to come by, the idea of Liverpool winning enough games to reel in any of the top four – or even Manchester United, for that matter – looks fanciful. It would require some turnaround.

Klopp’s approach to Exeter replay will tell us plenty

Does Klopp, then, begin to prioritise the three cup competitions over the league?

The idea would immediately jar with some, and understandably so. The league, after all, will always be Liverpool’s “bread and butter,” and the truest way of measuring a side’s progress and quality. Klopp would certainly not argue with that.

Yet success is what Anfield craves, and the likeliest route to success this season is in the cups. Fifth or sixth would represent a half-decent recovery from here, a League Cup, FA Cup or Europa League win would mean far more, both to supporters and to staff.

The original tie with Exeter was memorable for featuring probably the most thrown-together side Liverpool have ever fielded, so it will be interesting – and informative – to see how Klopp approaches Wednesday night’s replay at Anfield, especially with an early kick off at Norwich City to come in the Premier League on Saturday, and then the second leg of the League Cup semi final against Stoke to follow that.

Of those three, which fixture holds least significance? Certainly not the Stoke clash, which could set up a big Wembley final against Manchester City or, tantalisingly, Everton. Plenty would argue that progression against Exeter, although expected, is of more benefit than a scrappy point or battling win down at Carrow Road.

What do fans want?

On Monday morning, the ECHO ran a poll on our Liverpool live blog asking which competition should be the Reds’ priority between now and the end of the season.

The results made for interesting reading; 49% said the Europa League should be top of the agenda, 27% went for the Capital One Cup.

Only 16% believe the Premier League should be the priority, and intriguingly only 8% chose the FA Cup.

It’s not the most scientific of methods, obviously, and there are many who would suggest the idea of prioritising one competition over another is wrong, full stop. Liverpool are a club whose history is built on winning, whatever the tournament. Giving up on the league because the gap looks too big would certainly go against that.

But can this squad, these players, truly compete on four fronts? The evidence suggests not. Liverpool have players who are capable of strong performances, but not consistent ones. They look, in short, like an old-school “cup team.”

The lie of the land is promising, in the knockout competitions. They should have enough to see off Exeter, and have a home draw in round four – albeit against a side above them in the Premier League table – while they have already secured a valuable advantage from the away leg with Stoke in the League Cup semi.

The Europa League draw, too, has been kinder than it could have been. Augsburg await, an unknown quantity to most Liverpudlians but not to Klopp. The Germans have enjoyed an underwhelming Bundesliga campaign so far, and should certainly be seen off over two legs.

Success on the continent won’t be easy, with the likes of Valencia, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Napoli lurking – as well as Tottenham and Manchester United. But with the prize of a Champions League spot on offer, it looks at least as easy a task as catching the top four in the Premier League, and would certainly provide more memories along the way.

Food for thought, then, for Klopp. He hopes the injury situation will improve at Anfield in the coming weeks, which may enable him to attack on four fronts with greater confidence.

But if the hunch is right, and Liverpool find they have to pick and choose their priorities between now and the end of the season, then they’d be wise to give the cups their full attention.

You don’t get yourself a flag on the Kop for nearly finishing fourth, after all.