Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky)

Like London buses, Team Sky waited an age for their first Monument win – delivered at this very race by Wout Poels last year – and then promptly snatched their second at Milan-San Remo this year.

And the man who delivered that second win, Michal Kwiatkowski, has been in supreme form in 2017, also winning at Strade Bianche, finishing runner-up behind Philippe Gilbert at the Amstel Gold Race and then clocking a top-ten finish at La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday.

The former world champion had a quiet first year with Team Sky – E3 Harelbeke win aside – but he has more than made up for that with his form so far in 2017.

The 26-year-old has been on the podium for, in 2014 in what proved to be a dress rehearsal for the World Championships, and in Poels’ absence will lead Team Sky’s charge for at least another podium on Sunday.

A strong supporting cast at Team Sky also includes Sergio Henao – a former top-ten finisher in Liege – Diego Rosa and British duo Peter Kennaugh and Tao Geoghegan Hart.

Daniel Martin (QuickStep Floors)

While we’re talking former winners, Daniel Martin is another serious contender out to ensure there’s no new name added to the Liege-Bastogne-Liege roll of honour.

The Irishman’s win came back in 2013, and he has found himself beset by crashes and misfortune since.

But with Philippe Gilbert and Julian Alaphilippe out of Sunday’s race, Martin – who was runner-up at La Fleche Wallonne – will lead the QuickStep Floors charge to Ans.

For a rider supposedly blessed with the luck of the Irish, Martin has too often been dealt a bad hand by the cycling gods, but Sunday could be his chance to change that.

The 30-year-old certainly has the form – he was also third at Paris-Nice and sixth in Catalunya prior to the Ardennes Classics – now he just needs a touch of fortune too.

Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing)

Could Greg van Avermaet really be a contender at Liege-Bastogne-Liege? History suggests not, but the Belgian is one of the men of the hour and certainly has the skillset.

He has not raced La Doyenne since 2013, and has only been in the top ten once, in 2011, but he says he’s feeling good and has nothing to lose on Sunday.

He is not BMC Racing’s only ace for the race – Dylan Teuns, third at La Fleche Wallonne, will also be involved – but he’ll definitely be an interesting rider to watch.

He knows he has the ability to get over the climbs with the front men, and he has relished an uphill finish in the past.

And Van Avermaet has the form – winner of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix, and second at Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders.

After finishing 12^th at the Amstel Gold Race, he has had an extra week to recover from the efforts of Paris-Roubaix and prepare for Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He’s an outside but you would be foolish to count him out.

Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale)

Romain Bardet has made some big noises about Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and have never finished lower than 13^th in his four starts in the race you can understand why.

An outsider, definitely, but he has said himself anything is possible in the race, and he proved at last year’s Tour de France he can handle a war of attrition if the going gets tough.

He may also feel he still has a point to prove after his Paris-Nice disqualification for taking a tow from the team car after crashing on stage one of a race he was initially viewed as being among the favourites for.

Vincenzo Nibali, another rider with a penchant for the hilly classics like Bardet, but who won’t be at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, did exactly the same after his Vuelta a Espana disqualification in 2015 – winning at the Giro di Lombardia.

There’s nothing quite like a Monument win to get your fans back onside…

Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

Speaking of outsiders, Orica-Scott have a number of interesting cards to play, including former winner Simon Gerrans.

Last year’s runner-up Michael Albasini is also in their ranks, as are British twins Adam and Simon Yates. Though Adam has one eye on the Giro and Simon is now focussing on the Tour de France, they both have one-day wins to their names to show what is possible.

When Adam Yates won the Clasica San Sebastian in 2015 he proved he is not just a serious GC contender but one capable of winning the tougher one-day races too.

And with a fourth place at the Volta a Catalunya under his belt – proving he is fully over the illness which cost him a shot at the Tirreno-Adriatico title when he was second overall at the time – he has the form too.

No British rider has ever won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and while Yates winning would be a shock, there’s no reason he can’t be the one to change that record.