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What Liverpool need to ensure their automatic qualification to the Champions League round of 16.
Liverpool will push to keep their perfect Champions League run going this evening when they take on Girona out in Catalonia. The Reds will play out their sixth European match of the season and their last one of the year.
Arne Slot’s side have travelled to Girona well-rested after their clash with Everton was postponed on Saturday. Due to the impact of Storm Darragh, the final Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park has been moved and ‘most likely’ rescheduled for February 16th, according to recent reports.
Having last played almost a week ago, Liverpool have been able to focus on squad fitness. Arne Slot revealed in his pre-Everton press conference that Diogo Jota is ‘close to being back’ and Alisson will also be ready to return ‘very soon’.
Injuries have swept through the Liverpool camp this season and some key players will remain absent for this week’s fixtures, including Ibrahima Konaté and Conor Bradley, who both started in the 2-0 win over Real Madrid last time out.
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The statement win over a side boasting the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham marked five for five in Slot’s debut season. Liverpool are the only team in the Champions League yet to drop a single point, and they have conceded just one goal along the way so far.
What do Liverpool need to reach Champions League round of 16?
The Reds top the table with 15 points, and will be gunning for another three against Girona tonight as they edge closer to the knockout stages. Only the top eight sides will automatically qualify for the round of 16 in this new format. Teams that finish between ninth and 24th place will compete in a play-off round to decide who will join the automatic eight.
There is a lot of competition for a top eight spot and the order will almost certainly change between now and the end of this initial stage. Seven teams are currently tied on 10 points, stretching from sixth place Bayer Leverkusen to Lille down in 12th. Inter are Liverpool’s closest rivals on 13 points, while Barcelona (12), Borussia Dortmund (12) and Atalanta (11) make up the rest of the top five.
If all of those closest to Slot’s side, including the teams on 10 points, win their three remaining games, the Reds will need a minimum of five points to comfortably secure their automatic qualification and not worry about goal difference. A win and two draws from their last fixtures in this scenario will guarantee Liverpool at least a fifth-place finish.
After Girona, Liverpool will host Lille at Anfield on January 21st, followed by an away trip to PSV for their final pre-knockout clash on January 29th. Ahead of tonight’s fixture, Slot was asked about the significance of finishing inside the Champions League top eight compared to fighting it out in the play-offs.
“It is so difficult to say anything about this. I have said it many times, but at the end of the season you can judge it in the best possible way — if it's helpful to end up in the top eight, if it's helpful to end up as No.1. Of course, it seems to be really helpful to end up first eight, but if every time you play your starters, which we have done until now almost every time, then you also need the results. We try to do this to, first of all, be in the highest possible position but also to skip the next round.
“If in the end it means by playing your starters always, skipping that round and still having a very difficult draw then we maybe are going to think about it differently next season, what we are going to do in the group stage. That is something we have to wait and see in the end of the season, where this will lead us. First of all, we want to stay in the top eight and therefore we think we need a win.”
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