Arne Slot Responds to claims Liverpool Have Key Title Advantage Over Arsenal and Man City

The Premier League leaders, holding a four-point advantage with a game in hand, are also dominating the Champions League table. With five consecutive wins, they are on the brink of securing a top-eight spot in the competition.

Liverpool’s head coach, Arne Slot, does not believe that finishing in the top eight of the Champions League will provide his team with any significant edge in the domestic title race.

The Dutch manager admitted that bypassing the additional knockout round to progress directly into the last 16 is an advantage. However, he expressed uncertainty about any other tangible benefits.

He hinted that if the extended group stage offers no notable advantage, as determined by end-of-season evaluations, he might consider more squad rotation in future campaigns.

While Liverpool’s position ensures they are close to locking in a top-eight finish, further rankings within the group stage remain important. These standings impact the potential opposition they could face in the last 16, influencing their path in the tournament.

Meanwhile, title contenders Arsenal are currently in seventh place, and Manchester City find themselves in 17th, which corresponds to an unseeded playoff position. Chelsea, on the other hand, lead the Conference League table.

“If we end up in the top eight I assume these clubs end up in the top eight as well: Arsenal I think 95 percent sure, City have to do a bit more maybe but they are able to win three times in a row so then they will be in top eight,” said Slot ahead of the tie against European debutants Girona.

“Of course it seems to be really helpful to end up first eight but if every time you play all your (first-choice) starters, as we have done almost every time, then you also need the results because we try to finish as high as possible and also to skip the next round.

“If in the end it means by playing starters always and skipping the next round and still we have a very difficult draw then maybe we will think about it differently next season, what we will do in the group stage.

“You never know if it (missing the play-off round) is an advantage. Until now we have played every three days and we haven’t done that bad – maybe we should implement some friendly games if we finish top eight! But we are pushing really hard to finish top eight for the best possible seeding but also to skip that round.”

Liverpool stand on the brink of a historic achievement, as they have the chance to win their first six matches of a European campaign for only the second time in their history.

The last time they achieved such a feat was during the 2021-22 season. Their prospects have been further bolstered by the return of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who has recovered from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for 11 matches.

In Alisson’s absence, Caoimhin Kelleher stepped up impressively, recording five clean sheets, including against formidable opponents like Real Madrid and Manchester City.

However, he made a costly error during Wednesday’s match at Newcastle, where a late misjudgment allowed the hosts to secure a dramatic 3-3 draw. Head coach Arne Slot confirmed that Alisson is now fit to return to the starting lineup, stating:

“I think it speaks for itself. If you can play with Alisson, who has been so outstanding for the club for so many years and for the Brazil national team, that is definitely nice to have him back.

“But if you then look at how his replacement did it is not going to be easy to do even better. We expect the same, and maybe on margins a bit better but Caoimh did so well we can say we have two good goalkeepers.

“But for so many years Alisson has been so outstanding for this club and we are expecting him to do the same over the next few months.”

Forward Diogo Jota, sidelined since suffering a chest injury during the October 20 match against Chelsea, participated in full training at the AXA training complex before the team’s departure. However, he did not travel with the squad as he continues his recovery process.

Girona’s Oriol Romeu, formerly of Southampton and Chelsea, acknowledged that his team must give their utmost effort to disrupt the visitors’ rhythm during the match.

“We have to approach it as a historic and unique match but we have to work on it to arrive with options,” he told a press conference.

“Liverpool are an electric, dynamic, vertical, very attacking team. To suffer as little as possible we have to make them feel uncomfortable.”

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