When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?

The Premier League title race has become a procession for Liverpool.

With a vast 15-point lead at the top of the table, the only uncertainty would seem to be when Arne Slot’s side confirm the championship, rather than if.

Here, The Athletic examines the permutations for the remainder of the season.

What are Liverpool and Arsenal’s remaining games?

Just before Liverpool attempt to win their first trophy under Arne Slot in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday against Newcastle United, Arsenal will play their game in hand in the Premier League, taking on Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta’s side will have the opportunity to reduce the gap to 12 points with nine games to play. From there, it becomes a straight sprint to the finish.

After the weekend, both sides have six home games remaining in the league, with Arsenal having a marginally easier run-in based on the average league position of their opponents compared to Liverpool’s (10.8 to 10.6).

The two sides play each other at the start of May in what once looked set to be a title decider. However, unless Liverpool collapse dramatically over the next month and a half, they are more likely to get a guard of honour from their title challengers.

When is the earliest Liverpool could win the title?

Liverpool are not in league action again until April, when they face Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.

However, if Slot’s side beat David Moyes’ team and secure another three points in their next fixture, away to Fulham, they could win the title on April 12 — the day before they play West Ham United at Anfield — if Arsenal were to lose all four of their upcoming fixtures and the teams behind them, including Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, slipped up too.

Arteta’s side face Chelsea, Fulham, Everton and Brentford in that sequence. While Arsenal have only picked up five points from their last four games, Liverpool securing the title in that period is a very unlikely scenario.

So what’s the most realistic date?

This is slightly trickier to predict because Arsenal’s form has been inconsistent in recent weeks as they have struggled without key attackers.

The biggest points total Arsenal could secure this season is 85 (by winning all 10 of their remaining games). On that basis, Liverpool would need 16 points from their last nine matches to secure the league.

It is difficult to see Arsenal stringing that kind of run together, especially if they remain in the Champions League and Arteta begins to prioritise the European competition with his team selections.

If Arsenal win their game in hand and then match Liverpool’s results while staying ahead of Forest and City, then Slot’s side could win the trophy at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on May 3/4.

But if there are more slip-ups from Arsenal, then the title could be sewn up with four games to spare when Liverpool face Tottenham at Anfield a week earlier (April 27).

How would that compare in terms of the earliest title wins?

Liverpool would need Arsenal to lose their next four matches to equal the top-flight record of requiring the fewest games to secure the title, which they set in the 2019-20 season under Jurgen Klopp, sealing the trophy with seven games to spare.

Manchester United’s 2000-01 title win and the 2017-18 Manchester City team are the joint-second longest: both won the title with five games remaining.

If Liverpool seal the title at home to Tottenham, they will join Manchester United (1999-2000 and 2012-13) and Arsenal (2003-04) as the fourth team to win the league title with four games left.

When would the trophy be presented?

If Liverpool win the league, captain Virgil van Dijk will lift the trophy at Anfield after the game against Crystal Palace on the final day of the season (May 25).

This moment has a greater meaning because it will be the first time they have celebrated a Premier League title in front of their supporters. Covid-19 restrictions forced matches to be played behind closed doors during their win in 2020.

On that occasion, the players and Klopp received the trophy at a virtually empty Anfield, although some supporters congregated outside to mark the moment that ended a 30-year wait for the league crown.

Liverpool’s last Premier League trophy presentation took place at an empty Anfield (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Are Liverpool already planning for winning the league?

While no details have been revealed, and Liverpool themselves are reluctant to engage in anything that might seem pre-emptive in terms of celebrations, the trophy parade planning will be well underway already, due to the number of logistical challenges it poses, including road closures and the advanced notice required for residents.

Klopp, now Red Bull’s head of global soccer, is one of many Liverpool supporters waiting to find out the date after he recently revealed he was planning to attend.

“Yes, the plan is (to be in Liverpool) but not on the bus, I will be there with the people I saw on the bus (when Liverpool had their last trophy parade),” he said, while attending a community fundraiser in Cape Town. “That’s the idea but we will see.”

Liverpool’s recent trophy parades occurred after winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in 2022. The city became a sea of red, with the attendance at the Champions League parade estimated to be around 750,000 and, for the domestic cups, around 500,000.

On both occasions, the route was the same: a 13.5-kilometre journey around Liverpool, beginning at Allerton Maze and passing through Queens Drive, Mill Bank, West Derby Road, Islington, Leeds Street and The Strand before finishing on Blundell Street.

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)