Had things panned out ever so slightly differently for Maurizio Sarri, he could well have been sat in the home dugout at Anfield this Sunday.

In fact, depending on how things go for Chelsea, he might end up wishing he was.

Sarri’s three-season stint at Napoli may not have yielded a Serie A title due to Juventus’ seemingly unbreakable dominance, but it did earn him plenty of admirers in the Liverpool boardroom.

It goes without saying that Reds chiefs could not be happier to have Jurgen Klopp in situ, but there remains a belief that his Italian contemporary would have been a good fit for the sporting model in place at Anfield, too.

The reasons why were clear enough when these two teams last met in September to play out a thrilling 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

With Chelsea’s squad having taken quickly to Sarri’s attractive brand of football, a breathless clash underlining both managers’ brilliance ensued in the capital.

But, while Liverpool used the point they rescued through Daniel Sturridge’s late equaliser as a springboard to a title challenge, their hosts’ fortunes took a turn for the worse.

It was perhaps inevitable that teething problems would eventually emerge during Sarri’s first season in charge given the culture change he is charged with overseeing.

But that hasn’t stopped his relationship with the club’s fans and his own players taking a hit - and all despite guiding Chelsea to the League Cup final, third place in the Premier League, and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

The Naples-born boss’ standing in the changing room was underlined by Kepa Arrizabalaga’s remarkable show of dissent during February’s defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.

And it appears supporters who have grown used to their managers cobbling together title-winning teams at the first attempt thanks to Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte have already grown weary of Sarri’s comparatively slow progress.

The high expectations driving this friction give little consideration to the fact that the Chelsea of last summer bore little resemblance to that inherited by both Mourinho and Conte.

But it seems few people at Stamford Bridge have the patience for a rebuilding job that is likely to require some short-term pain.

Arguably, the exact opposite was the case for Klopp when he took the reins at Anfield in 2015, the club’s lengthy title drought serving to create a significantly less pressured environment.

Should the German take a step toward ending that wait by earning three points on Sunday, it is not hard to imagine Sarri casting envious glances at the conditions in which his opposite number has inspired an Anfield revolution.

Conversely, any other result would go a long way to endearing the 60-year-old to a supporter base who have viewed him with suspicion even during the better moments of his debut campaign.

And, while the latter would prove the astute decision-makers at Anfield right once again, they would no doubt consider three points preferable to vindication on this occasion.