The Premier League season, so far, has been spectacular, with almost every team having seen their fair share of ups and downs.
Liverpool are the only club to have enjoyed a near-flawless campaign, losing just once from 29 Premier League games. They have only nine games remaining in the season, and while contracts and future squad rebuild remain high on the Kirkby bosses’ agenda, a Premier League title remains there to be won by Arne Slot.
The Reds endured a bad last week—eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain via penalty shootout before being beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final. Arne Slot would have loved to have a game right away after the defeat to Newcastle to right the wrongs from Sunday, but the final international break of the season came up.
Whether a 10-day hiatus benefits them or not remains to be seen. That being said, here are the three things to look forward to from Liverpool in the final stretch of games after the international break.
#How Liverpool responds to back-to-back cup eliminations?
In just a matter of four days Liverpool went from the highs of the Carabao Cup final and possible progression in the Champions League to leaving Wembley empty-handed and ousted from the elite continental competition.
It has been a tough pill to swallow for Arne Slot and his players as well as the fans, but all is not lost for the Merseyside outfit this season. They have a glorious chance to win the 20th league title—first under Slot and in his maiden year at the club.
The equation is simple—Liverpool need 16 more points from their remaining nine games to clinch the Premier League title, regardless of what second-placed Arsenal does. With the goal in front crystal clear, how Slot and Co. respond to their back-to-back cup eliminations against bitter Merseyside rivals Everton at Anfield will be interesting to watch.
#Can Liverpool stay focused?
It is not surprising that the astonishingly poor display in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle would spark panic among supporters, considering it happened just after the midweek elimination from the Champions League at the hands of a well-oiled PSG side.
Yet, there are still so many positives to take for the Merseysiders. Very few people expected the Merseyside club to be in the title race at 29 games, let alone them running away with it. Two back-to-back setbacks have caused a bit of hysteria within the fanbase, which is quite normal.
The onus is on Slot to keep the dressing room together, try blocking out the outside noises and stick to his principles that have brought him and his team so far this season. With the league title very much in sight, it is all about staying focused and unified for Liverpool. The main question here is—can they do that after the international break or falter?
#Will Harvey Elliot get more involved in the remaining games?
Finding a regular starting berth for Harvey Elliott was tough for former boss Jurgen Klopp. During his final season in charge of the Reds, Klopp admitted to his mistake of not utilising the England youth international more in the latter stages when his squad was stretched a bit due to injuries.
Slot has been guilty of following his predecessor’s path. Elliot came off the bench during the Carabao Cup final and provided a telling contribution with the tackle and assist before Federico Chiesa’s goal. It feels like whenever the diminutive midfielder is given a chance to impress, he takes it but it still isn’t enough to regularly see him start games.
As per stats shared by an OptaJoe data operator on X, the 21-year-old has started 16 of 43 games but has 19 goal contributions (seven goals and 12 assists). After a goal against PSG in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie and an assist at Wembley on Sunday, maybe Slot will change his mind and hand more minutes to Elliott during the remaining games of the season.
