There comes a time in life when you go all in.
Have you had a dream that you want to realise with everything inside of you?
It’s all or nothing at this point. Any other outcome will just be meh - a las.
These are the kind of stakes Manchester City and Liverpool are dealing with as their campaigns come down to the haal uit en wys stage, with the next two weekends potentially making or breaking alles.
City are chasing a treble to emulate their cross-town rivals United’s 1999 feat - the last thing Red Devils fans will want to see.
Liverpool, on the other hand, can go one better and claim an unprecedented quadruple.
Jurgen Klopp’s manne already have this season’s League Cup back at Anfield.
But this Sunday, they go to City, who lead them by one point, in a Premier League showdown that could decide the destiny of the title.
With second-leg Champions League quarterfinal clashes against Benfica for the Reds and City’s trip to Atletico Madrid in midweek, the English rivals will meet at Wembley on Saturday for an FA Cup semifinal.
And after that match, the dream will definitely be over for one team.
During these battles there will be some interesting little subplots that will drive the drama through the roof.
So let’s take a look…
With 28 goals across all competitions for the Reds this season, Mo Salah is without doubt Liverpool’s main man.
But without a goal from open play since February, something is seriously off with the Egyptian.
He really hasn’t handled the disappointment of losing the Afcon final and missing out on World Cup qualification to Sadio Mane’s Senegal.
And watching his rival and teammate flourish must be hurting Salah.
Even more worrying for Mo is seeing the rest of the attack shine when given the kans.
Diogo Jota has 14 league goals, six behind his 20.
But it’s the arrival of new boy Luis Diaz that has Mo paaping the most.
It’s no coincidence that Diaz’s impressive integration has come at the same time as a dry spell for Salah.
Salah is used to playing with Mane on the right and Roberto Firmino or Jota in the middle of a three-man attack.
But Diaz has come in on the right and changed the nommer as the Reds continue to push for trophies on all fronts in the second half of the season.
The Colombian has convinced Klopp to play Mane through the centre now and it’s no surprise that Salah is off his game.
Now is the time for Klopp to put his arm around Salah and have a chat.
The boss has been patient with Salah and tell his yster that he still trusts him to do what he has been over the past five years - put the ball in the back of the net.
But eight matches is a bietjie lank and Klopp needs Salah to be at his best now.
Perhaps, the coach should give him what he needs. Maybe it’s some time off - maybe this Saturday and against Benfica.
At this crucial time, it might be a gamble.
But with the rest of the attack doing the business, it could just work out for almal with Wembley and the final league chase to come.
There seem to be two things that come guaranteed when Pep Guardiola is in charge of your club - they will dominate at home, but you can las the Champions League.
It’s becoming a bit of a running joke too, with even Pep making gaai of himself this week.
Making crazy tactical changes has been Pep’s calling card for his entire career.
But when he gets it wrong - like dropping Fernandinho in last May’s Champions League final - it goes horribly wrong.
And you can bet everyone at City sees Europe as the big one, no matter how many times they tell you that winning at home is amazing.
It’s all or nothing this season, mos.
Ahead of the quarterfinal first leg against Atletico, he said: “In the Champions League I always overthink.
“If people think I will play the same against Atlético and Liverpool [City’s opponents on Sunday], well, I don’t think like that because the movements from Liverpool are completely different than Atlético – especially because the players are all different.
“That’s why I love to overthink and create stupid tactics and, when we don’t win, I am punished.
“Tonight I will take inspiration and I’m going to do incredible tactics tomorrow – we play with 12 tomorrow.”
While I think City and Liverpool will go toe to toe and slug it out in an all-action duel on Sunday, next week’s trip to Madrid is where Pep will really be tested.
Another slip-up in Europe is always on the horizon, with Pep now waiting 11 years for glory since the last of two titles with Barcelona.
And with an incredible stat like Atletico never losing a Champions League tie if they have lost the first leg, it seems history is also not on Pep’s side.
So if Pep wants a Euro title in City’s future then he needs to shake off the past and play to win, not create.