Liverpool are having their Premier League mettle tested more than ever right now.
The Reds have entered the most unprecedented season in the history of England's top division as reigning champions and life certainly isn't making their quest to retain the trophy any easier.
Jurgen Klopp's men are finely poised just one point behind Leicester City and top spot, but there has been no shortage of road bumps coming into the November international break.
Tough times at Liverpool
They did, of course, suffer that historic 7-2 thrashing at Aston Villa, as well as draws with Everton and Manchester City, which underpins the unpredictability of the 2020/21 campaign.
However, things have been made all the more difficult by an injury crisis tearing its way through the Anfield squad, leaving Klopp with a serious selection dilemma by the time club football returns.
The latest first-team player to be directed towards the treatment table comes in the form of Joe Gomez, who suffered a potentially serious injury on England duties.
Injury crisis at Liverpool
Combine that with injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho to see exactly why a defensive crisis is brewing on Merseyside.
In fact, Joel Matip, who has only completed 90 minutes on two occasions across the last 13 months, is now the only available and senior option for Klopp at centre-back ahead of the Leicester City tie.
But the injury problems haven't been exclusive to the back four throughout 2020/21 and it's easy to see why Klopp is campaigning for five substitutes per game when you see the extent of the crisis.
Liverpool's list of injuries
ESPN put the injury problems at Anfield into context by tweeting a list of every player to have picked up a knock across the campaign and it's damning to say the very least. Check it out below:
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez
Midfielders: Fabinho, Naby Keita, Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Forwards: Sadio Mane
XI of fit players this season
A lot of crucial players, right? Well, that got us thinking here at GIVEMESPORT because as unpopular as feeling sympathetic to Liverpool might be, their luck really has been rotten.
As a result, we've decided to highlight just how roughly Lady Luck has treated the Reds by trying to construct a starting XI comprised only of Liverpool players who have been fit all season long.
So, yes, that means zero of the players in the injury list above can be included, regardless of whether they're fit right now - and you can take a look at the final result we came to below:
GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says
I'm not sure this starting XI would qualify for the Champions League, you know.
I don't mean that as a damning indictment of Liverpool's squad because it's remarkable that, despite having amassed so many injuries, whether or not they'd reach the top four is still up for debate.
Adrian would be a shaky presence in goal, the heart of the defence is littered with inexperienced personnel and the front three is probably the only area that retains its world-class status.
I'm pretty sure Firmino, Salah and Jota would still make for a remarkable strikeforce, but I don't I'm alone in fearing for a midfield trio of Jones, Wijnaldum and Milner during the big games.
That being said, Liverpool can at least pat themselves on the back knowing that some of the players absent from our imaginary XI have returned to fitness and that all of these injuries didn't happen at once.
But as the injuries, knocks and crocks continue to rain in at Anfield, it feels like scant consolation amidst the bigger picture of their season.
