**_BBC_ pundit Wayne Rooney says Liverpool’s seven-point gap to Chelsea is “too big” to bridge over the final five Premier League games.**
Virgil van Dijk’s last-gasp winner in the Merseyside derby, coupled with Chelsea’s loss to Manchester United, at the weekend, means the Reds are firm favourites to seal a Champions League spot.
Speaking on _Match of the Day_ on Sunday night, Rooney confidently predicted that the current top five won’t change between now and the final game in May:
“I think that is how the top five will finish. That is set. The gap is a bit too big for Chelsea”
“The form hasn’t been great. I thought Chelsea played well against United, but didn’t take the chance,s and it’s proved costly.”
How many points do Liverpool need to secure CL qualification?
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Chelsea are currently on 48 points, and they can only reach 63 points with five fixtures left to play.
The victory over Everton means that [**Arne Slot**](https://walkon.com/blog/liverpool-news-mo-salah-arne-slot-carragher/)‘s side are now sitting on 55 points, and that means 9 points (or three wins) from their remaining matches will be enough to finish in the Champions League places.
It should be pointed out that due to the FA Cup, Chelsea play tomorrow night against Brighton, and if they drop points at the Amex, Liverpool may need even fewer than 9 to wrap up qualification.
Who do Liverpool play in their last 5 games?
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The Reds take on Crystal Palace at home on Saturday before they travel to Old Trafford for the North West derby against Manchester United at the beginning of the next month.
A week later, they host Chelsea before playing Aston Villa away from home. Slot’s team will then close out the season against Brentford at Anfield on the final day.
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