Liverpool’s season has just nine games remaining. Nine.
It feels like that has come around quickly, especially in a campaign where the finish line has been so readily anticipated with talk from Premier League managers often centered around how many games are left. But now that it’s into single figures, the end suddenly seems in sight.
That wasn’t really in the script and had Liverpool beaten Paris Saint-Germain there could still be 14 games left to play. There could even have been talk of a possible treble had the Reds overcome Newcastle United at Wembley eight days ago. Instead, what has unquestionably been a fantastic maiden campaign for Arne Slot on Merseyside may finish somewhat anticlimactically.
The excitement at seeing a first Liverpool team in generations lift the Premier League title at Anfield will be more than enough to satisfy supporters, especially given the last time paraded the trophy was paraded at the ground it was set against an eerie backdrop of empty, tarpaulin-covered seats during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Assuming the Reds hold on – which almost everyone expects them to given only 16 more points are required – Sunday May 25 2025 is a date that fans will remember for years to come. No popping champagne in the back garden this time!
But the build-up could be low-key, especially if Arsenal continues its current dismissal run of form and the title is wrapped up early. The Gunners have won one of the last four and, with no fit strikers still and a Champions League last-eight tie on the horizon, it feels unlikely Mikel Arteta’s side will be able to find that final push to keep Liverpool honest.
Slot will insist that his side must keep playing at full capacity, but invariably the focus and intensity will drop. Even if the first matches back after the international break – against Everton and Fulham – are played with gusto and unwavering concentration, that won’t last into late April and May. But if the high-stakes feeling doesn’t exist, it could, oddly, afford the Liverpool boss a rare opportunity.
(Image: Getty Images)
Only 12 outfield players have started 10+ league matches this term and Slot’s lack of rotation has actually drawn some criticism in recent weeks given the growing levels of fatigue and the number of knocks. Alisson and Ryan Gravenberch have joined that list over the international break – admittedly, the former’s suspected concussion had nothing to do with the number of games played.
They join Trent Alexander-Arnold among the players recently ruled out, plus the more long-term absences of Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez. Then there’s those who clearly need a rest to consider, a group that includes Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and possibly even Mohamed Salah.
It all means that some variation to Slot’s line-ups seems likely over the last two months of the campaign – and there are players desperate for minutes. Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa and Darwin Nunez could be playing for their Liverpool futures, after all. The last weeks of the ‘24/25 campaign could essentially become a final audition for the squad’s fringe members.
Likewise, could youngsters James McConnell or Trey Nyoni be given game time in the Premier League to test their mettle ahead of next term? It’s an opportunity Slot has provided himself thanks to an outstanding first three-quarters of the season, and one that few of his peers around the division will be able to avail of.
