The ECHO reports from the AXA Training Centre as Arne Slot looks ahead to a major week for Liverpool
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Updated 13:26, 07 Mar 2025
Liverpool boss Arne Slot previews the visit from Southampton at the AXA Training Centre
Liverpool boss Arne Slot previews the visit from Southampton at the AXA Training Centre
(Image: LFC YouTube)
Journalists turning up for Arne Slot's 10am address might have been forgiven for thinking the Liverpool boss had got his weeks mixed up on Friday morning. The Reds' head coach made reference to the word 'final' more than a handful of times as he met with the media for the first time since Wednesday's smash-and-grab win at Paris Saint-Germain.
But while Slot could easily have been previewing next week's Carabao Cup clash with Newcastle United, it was Saturday's 3pm visit from rock-bottom Southampton that he was talking up as important as any showpiece occasion that may lie in wait.
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The repeated mention of the word 'final' was entirely deliberate, with Slot adamant the clash against a side threatening to post the lowest-ever points tally of a Premier League season was not being overlooked for more glamorous assignments next week, against PSG and the Wembley showdown with Eddie Howe's Magpies.
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Such is the importance of this weekend's game, Slot says, that he is not only going to hammer home the message of professionalism to his players but he is also extending that the supporters, who he knows will have a vital part to play over the next eight days, a period that sees the Reds looking to extend their advantage to 16 points before playing for a place in the Champions League's quarter-finals and the first piece of silverware this season.
These are exciting times for supporters as the final stretch comes into view, but Slot, as you would expect, is looking only at what is next on the schedule. For the Dutchman, the word 'final' perfectly encapsulates how he sees it as the focus shifts back to the return of league action at Anfield.
"We are in a good place but we have three finals to play in a week and after this one we have only three days in between," Slot says. "It is a week to look forward to for every Liverpool fan and I know the final is there and everyone is already talking to me about how the atmosphere will be on a Champions League night but truly I hope our fans will be at their loudest tomorrow, not for a final or PSG.
"I hope they will not come into the stadium five minutes before the kick-off, I'm hoping the stadium is already filled half an hour before kick-off so these players get the reward for what they did in Paris for working so hard.
"They have great songs: sometimes when I look at social media I see these songs they do for Lucho (Luis Diaz), Virgil (van Dijk) or Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) and they are really creative with these songs. Let's hear them tomorrow - although I am in the stands (because of a touchline suspension)."
Despite the genuine insistence that it is only Southampton who will occupy his thinking between now and Saturday evening, the Reds boss did at least indicate that some rotation might be necessary against Ivan Juric's Saints, with such a tight turnaround between games given PSG pitch up on Merseyside on Tuesday evening.
"Of course you do know what to expect from Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle, but for me the most important game is the one against Southampton," Slot added. "If there would be three, four, five days in between these two games, I would probably have started the same XI again.
"But since there are only two days in between and we had to work really hard in the first game, it’s probably the 50th game in three months! You take that into account, but you take the quality of the team you have to face, the form of the players, how fit they are, which players fit best together.
"We started with Lucho and Diogo Jota, Diogo, where Diogo is a player of nine-and-a-half, almost. He is almost a midfielder as a striker. I finished with Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez, more of a midfielder on the left and a real No.9, so you look at these combinations depending on the opposition and the formation of the other team.
"The good thing for us is that Southampton has the same formation with the ball as Paris Saint-Germain has. We need to do much better with the ball, to press Southampton better than we did against Paris-Saint Germain. It’s another good test for us."
With just 21 points needed to clinch the title now, the visit of a side who have lost 22 of their 27 matches is an ideal fixture, even for all the respectful nods Slot gave to the Saints on Friday. The opportunity to extend the gap to an eye-watering 16 points ahead of Arsenal's trip to Manchester United on Sunday should also act as an additional incentive.
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Slot says: "We have to act differently than the second half against Wolves but it was also their quality too. They have had a better season than the table. Southampton take risks all over the pitch, so if you are not sharp or aren't aggressive enough, they can hurt you."
Ordinarily, a game against the league's worst side at Anfield might be one of the most routine afternoons of the campaign. Try telling Slot that, though. For him, the first of three finals awaits.