Arne Slot will have the opportunity to rotate more against Chelsea due to the fact Liverpool are a much superior side, Reds expert David Lynch has insisted.
The Merseysiders clinched their second Premier League title when they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 on April 27, though there are still four games remaining in the 2024-25 season.
Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to take on Chelsea, who are in fifth place with 60 points and are in the midst of a battle to secure Champions League football.
Despite the Blues needing as many points as possible, Lynch argued that the Reds could still achieve victory even with a number of changes, telling Sports Mole: “Chelsea will be desperate to win this one, and I will say they were absolutely brilliant at Anfield.
“I thought they were going to have a much better season than they did, but it seems to have gone wrong recently. They’re in poor form and as much as they need it, Liverpool are a far better side and they look more convincing, so Liverpool should have every confidence they can go there and get the win, and if they do that, then Champions League-wise, it’s not looking great for Chelsea.
“[Slot] is going to be more willing to make his subs earlier, regardless of game state, because Liverpool don’t need to win. He can take Dominik Szoboszlai off on the 60th minute, he could throw Chiesa in for a few minutes just to give him a reward for his attitude around the place.”
After 34 matchweeks nine Liverpool players have featured in at least 30 games, while nine have started at least 27 times, but Slot now has the freedom to alter his favoured starting XI without many consequences.
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Should Slot field a strong XI?
Though Liverpool have no need to gain any further points given they are champions, the team and individual players could still achieve a number of milestones.
The Reds’ maximum points tally of 94 would be the sixth highest in Premier League history, while talisman Mohamed Salah needs three more assists to break the Thierry Henry‘s record of 20 in a single season.
Lynch spoke of his belief that Slot will select a strong lineup when he told Sports Mole: “We don’t know how he reacts to a title win, whether he’ll make 11 changes and go into it and want to give everybody a chance to play. We are going to learn over these next four weeks. Knowing his lack of rotation this season, he probably will start as strong as he possibly can because he seems to love to do that.
“The starting XI is probably going to look as strong as possible because why not go there and win? Why not try and break 90 points, which would feel like a statement about how good this side is? Why not try and get 94, which again would be an unbelievable tally?
“I think he’s going to start strong, but then be more willing to make changes and be less tied to the idea that Liverpool desperately have to get over the line. Gravenberch [may not have] to play the entire 90, for example. There’s going to be a willingness to change there.”
It should also be noted that 94 points would see Slot accumulate more points than either Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger managed at Manchester United and Arsenal respectively.
Why Liverpool contrast positively with Chelsea
In recent seasons, Chelsea have spent significant sums of money on numerous additions under the direction of co-owner Todd Boehly, whereas Liverpool have been far more reserved in the transfer market.
The Reds’ only summer signing was Federico Chiesa, who was brought in for a fee in the region of £10m, whereas the Blues spent in excess of £200m in the same window.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch claimed that Liverpool have operated in a smarter and more palatable manner to Chelsea, saying: “The way [Chelsea] operate in contrast to Liverpool is pretty risible. Liverpool have built intelligently and played within the rules, and then you’ve got Chelsea selling the women’s team to themselves, selling hotels to get round the rules.
“It would be nice to see that blow up in someone’s face, and that’s not a hatred of Chelsea. I just think the way they’ve gone about it is very poor and not something I’ve enjoyed watching. It’s interesting that Liverpool have done it completely differently and they’re the ones who are Premier League champions, particularly after they got so much stick for missing out on Lavia and Caicedo.
“Chelsea fans won that social media war, and then in the end Liverpool supporters have had the last laugh. There is a real contrast in the way that these two clubs are running. It’s not going to be their motivation – the squad and the manager – but supporters [will want] to see if Liverpool can get three points and land a blow on Chelsea that could hurt them in terms of Champions League qualification.”
Liverpool lost out to Chelsea in their pursuit of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the summer of 2023, though they arguably benefitted from missing out on the duo considering they signed Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch in that summer instead.
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