Liverpool went into the meeting with Sunderland knowing they could close the gap on Manchester United and Chelsea.
After one win in seven Premier League games prior to Wednesday, the Reds had dropped down to sixth in the table.
This has seen Arne Slot’s future called into question, with suggestions he could be let go if Liverpool don’t qualify for the Champions League.
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Sunderland v Liverpool - Premier League
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But after Manchester United and Chelsea dropped points on Tuesday evening, Slot’s men could have closed the gap to three points if they beat Sunderland.
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Former Premier League manager Tim Sherwood covered the fixture live on Sky Sports on February 11.
When doing so, he was asked if Liverpool would qualify for Europe’s premier competition next term.
He stated that though he doesn’t think they will end up fourth, they could finish fifth, which would be enough based on UEFA’s coefficient.
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Sherwood was also quick to highlight the impact of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
He said: “Not on current form, but I think they will get better.
“Ekitike has been outstanding. Wirtz has come to life.
“The results went perfectly for them last night. Manchester United and Chelsea dropped points.
“I feel like they’ve got the quality. I’m not sure they are going to finish fourth, but with the co-efficient, the Champions League is going to be five places. I believe they will do it.
“It’s the minimum requirement for them. If they do, I think the manager might not be under as much pressure as we think.”
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Arne Slot on Liverpool future
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It is still possible Liverpool don’t qualify for the Champions League this season.
With that in mind, we spoke to finance expert Adam Williams, who explained how much money the Reds could lose without being in the competition.
He said: “As an absolute minimum, they’d be looking at £60m in prize money from the Champions League. In a good year, they’re looking at £100m-plus. On top of that, maybe £20-30m in matchday income. They aren’t going to make £725m in revenue in a non-Champions League year, in my view. But then they have incoming transfer instalments, which are going to be pretty healthy too. With those factored in, they can afford to cover their expenses without taking on more debt or asking the owners for money.
“So, yes, no Champions League football is going to have an impact, but it’s not going to mean you can’t still do a decent amount of business, depending on how you structure your transfer dealings. If you get into the Europa League, you get a half-decent amount of prize money, plus matchday income, so I think they could still spend pretty significantly if they achieved that.”
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