Arne Slot congratulates Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy after Newcastle United's Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool
Arne Slot congratulates Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy after Newcastle United's Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool
Chelsea could face a much-changed Liverpool side on Sunday as Newcastle United look to open up a gap on the Blues before their rival's clash with the champions.
Newcastle have the chance to strengthen their grip on a Champions League qualification place against Brighton ahead of Chelsea welcoming Liverpool to Stamford Bridge later that day. Liverpool have already secured their 20th league title so boss Arne Slot has indicated that he will make changes for his side's final four games of the campaign.
Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa are among those who have yet to start a Premier League match this season while Jarell Quansah has only lined up from the off on two occasions in the top-flight under Slot. The quartet, who it is worth remembering are quality players in their own right, are among those who will be pushing for a rare start.
Although Slot vowed that Liverpool would try to win - regardless of who plays - it was rather telling that the Dutchman repeatedly called on reporters to judge his side 'more on the amount of points we have now'.
"My line-ups will be different to the one we've mostly had during the last 10 months as well," he said. "We're not going to change everyone, but there will be a few players that come into the team. There will be a certain rotation in the upcoming games.
"That's not to say that we're going to lose them. We still have a lot of trust in the players we're going to play now as well, but it would be more honest to judge us on the points total we have now compared to the ones that have won the league in the past where they still had to fight until the end."
Fourth-placed Newcastle, regardless, have their fate in their own hands. The Magpies are currently two points behind Manchester City; two points above Chelsea and Nottingham Forest; and five points clear of Aston Villa.
Rather than thinking about what team Liverpool could put out at Stamford Bridge, the black-and-whites will just be concentrating solely on their trip to Brighton as Eddie Howe reiterated on Friday.
"We can only focus on ourselves," the Newcastle boss added. "We can't look at other teams and other results, and we've never done that. It's about making sure that we're prepared for Brighton."