Liverpool boss Arne Slot. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Liverpool boss Arne Slot. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
The race for Champions League places could go down to the wire, here are the next five fixtures of the clubs in contention.
After what has become widely accepted as Liverpool’s worst unbeaten run in their history came to an end, the fight for Arne Slot to secure Champions League football next season became an awful lot harder.
Manchester United and Chelsea have changed manager with Michael Carrick overseeing two impressive wins over Arsenal and Manchester City, it might just be a new manager bounce, but they are very much back in the hunt.
United are showing an organisation and clarity of game plan that Slot could do with if he is to keep his job. This Premier League season has seen every team seemingly being capable of beating every other team, aside from those at the bottom of the table, which makes the next run of games even more difficult to predict.
Race for Champions League places hots up
Liverpool have been consistently inconsistent in that even in victory they have sometimes looked shorn of confidence and almost like they just want this season to end, go on holiday, and start afresh next season. Just four points separates fourth place to 11th with United and Everton bookmarking these positions. It wouldn’t take much to drift into mid-table obscurity.
The performance of English teams in Europe might see fifth place be enough for Champions League football, but there are a lot of teams in the mix. A run of good results could split the pack, but who has the easiest next five games?
Champions League contenders’ next five league fixtures
Manchester United
vs. Fulham (H) - Sunday, February 1
vs. Tottenham Hotspur (H) - Saturday, February 7
vs. West Ham United (A) - Tuesday, February 10
vs. Everton (A) - Monday, February 23
vs. Crystal Palace (H) - Sunday, March 1
Chelsea
vs. West Ham United (H) - Saturday, January 31
vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) - Saturday, February 7
vs. Leeds United (H) - Tuesday, February 10
vs. Burnley (H) - Saturday, February 21
vs. Arsenal (A) - Sunday, March 1
Liverpool
vs. Newcastle United (H) - Saturday, January 31
vs. Manchester City (H) - Sunday, February 8
vs. Sunderland (A) - Wednesday, February 11
vs. Nottingham Forest (A) - Saturday, February 21
vs. West Ham United (H) - Saturday, February 28
Fulham
vs. Manchester United (A) - Sunday, February 1
vs. Everton (H) - Saturday, February 7
vs. Manchester City (A) - Wednesday, February 11
vs. Sunderland (A) - Sunday, February 22
vs. Tottenham Hotspur (H) - Sunday, March 1
Brentford
vs. Aston Villa (H) - Saturday, January 31
vs. Newcastle United (A) - Saturday, February 7
vs. Arsenal (H) - Saturday, February 14
vs. Brighton & Hove Albion (H) - Saturday, February 21
vs. Burnley (A) - Saturday, February 28
Newcastle United
vs. Liverpool (A) - Saturday, January 31
vs. Brentford (H) - Saturday, February 7
vs. Tottenham Hotspur (A) - Tuesday, February 10
vs. Man City (A) - Saturday, February 21
vs. Everton (A) - Saturday, February 28
Sunderland
vs. Burnley (H) - Monday, February 2
vs. Arsenal (A) - Saturday, February 7
vs. Liverpool (H) - Wednesday, February 11
vs. Fulham (H) - Sunday, February 22
vs. Bournemouth (A) - Saturday, February 28
Everton (after Leeds United on January 26)
vs. Brighton (A) - Saturday, January 31
vs. Fulham (A) - Saturday, February 7
vs. Bournemouth (H) - Tuesday, February 10
vs. Manchester United (H) - Monday, February 23
vs. Newcastle United (A) - Saturday, February 28
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