While Manchester City and Arsenal could both have gained ground on Liverpool before the round is over as a result of the Merseyside Derby being postponed, it isn't the worst thing for Arne Slot to get an unexpected weekend off.
Right now, the Reds are without several players who could be back by the time it is rearranged. Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota were a part of training on Friday, for instance, and Liverpool is currently pretty short of numbers at the back. Ibrahima Konate and the rest might have made a return by the time the game goes ahead.
Alexis Mac Allister will now miss Fulham at Anfield through suspension rather than the last trip to Goodison Park and Liverpool might play the derby in conditions that would be much less of a leveler against Sean Dyche's men. The wind — and the game that it would have been — would have suited Everton much more.
Playing Everton with more players available and when the weather conditions are better should suit Liverpool. It will mean a more congested week at some point in the future, but it also avoids a Saturday lunchtime kick-off away from home when the Reds only came off the pitch at St James' Park around 63 hours beforehand.
In that sense, the postponement, though it might make the title race look a little closer for a while, should work out nicely for Liverpool. The players get a bigger rest in December - a rare luxury - ahead of the trip to Girona on Tuesday in the Champions League, a match in which a win would all but confirm a top-eight finish.
Secure that, and the Merseyside derby could be scheduled for one of the weeks when the teams finishing in ninth to 24th in the Champions League table are facing the play-offs - a fate the Reds have almost certainly already avoided.
Aside from the schedule boost that this fixture being postponed has offered, however, there is another positive coming for Slot. While the English calendar can be grueling at the best of times, the Christmas period is particularly tough in most years. This time, though, it really isn't that bad.
Arne Slot during a Liverpool training session
Arne Slot during a Liverpool training session (Image: Nikki Dyer - LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
After Girona, Liverpool has Fulham and Spurs in the Premier League. The trip to Southampton in the Carabao Cup will likely be the chance to make wholesale changes, with Harvey Elliott's first start after recovering from injury perhaps coming then, as well as a chance for some younger players like Trey Nyoni.
Four days after the game at Tottenham, Liverpool hosts Leicester City on Boxing Day with another three days until the trip to West Ham United. There is then a full week before Manchester United at home and then another free midweek before Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.
Considering how unrelenting the schedule usually is at this time of the year, while there is still a large volume of games that will need to be traversed, they are relatively well spread out. The difficulty level could be worse, too, with Manchester City's next run reading Juventus, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Everton.
Things have gone well for Slot so far at Liverpool and the December schedule is set up for that to continue. The Dutchman will want to make the most of it, though, because while it might not feel accommodating as it plays out, it might never be as kind as this again.