Liverpool need '23 points out of 30' to secure Premier League top four says Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the club will secure a spot in Premier League top four if they get 23 points from the remaining 10 games - with Arsenal, Tottenham, Southampton, Manchester City and Manchester United involved in the battle.

The Reds, fifth in the table and five points behind United - but with a game in hand, visit Swansea on 16 March before their crucial encounter with Louis van Gaal's side on 22 March.

The Old Trafford side appear to be Liverpool's biggest threat in their bid for Champions League qualification but a number of clubs are jostling for the four spots. And there are just eight points between Manuel Pellegrini's City side, currently second, and Spurs in seventh place.

"We have 30 points to play for so I am guessing it will be another 23 points [to make the top four]," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.

"That is how competitive it has been this year. We have won nine and drawn two of the last 11. It has been a great run but now we have to be focused on these last 10 matches. Everything counts. We have to be aggressive in our game and now we have to nail it in the last 10. I know the players are focused on that."

The Reds had similar momentum towards the end of last season, conceding the Premier League title to Manchester City after a defeat against Chelsea. Rodgers believes that disappointment can help Liverpool avoid another blow and secure their top-four target.

"Last season will help us. We dealt really well with the pressure. We won 12 out of 14 in the run-in and it was unfortunate that we lost one [against Chelsea]. OK, that was the one that mattered but it wasn't through not being able to deal with pressure. We were unlucky that day," he said.

"We conceded right at the end of the first half and then right at the end of the second half. We dealt with pressure remarkably well and our game is based on that. We play a technical game and that is a big part of why my teams do well in the second part of the season.

"Our game is based on dealing with pressure because [the players] have the courage to play, so when it comes to these moments, we do well with it."