Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says his side still have work to do in the title race
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says his side still have work to do in the title race
Seven wins, 21 points or a flawless Anfield record. However you’re viewing Liverpool’s Premier League title charge now, there is no denying the countdown is well and truly underway.
The Reds need just over two thirds of the final 30 points available from here on in to ensure the chasing pack cannot catch them, but with second-place Arsenal still to come at Anfield in May, a half dozen home wins will be enough to seal a first league crown since 2020 and ensure that a generation of fans get to have the sort of party that has eluded them for nearly four decades.
Such will be the scenes, in fact, that even Jurgen Klopp confirmed this week he will be in attendance, should his former club get over the line in their title quest under his successor, Arne Slot.
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The second half of the 2-0 win against Newcastle United last month was played against the backdrop of a party atmosphere as supporters learned that Arsenal had been held to a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest having kicked off 45 minutes earlier, and the general mood was a world away from the previous fixture, when anxiety and nerves took hold for the second half against Wolves.
Saturday's return to Premier League duty is the first of what Slot has called "three finals", with rock-bottom Southampton showing up to Anfield for what many have already decided is going to the lambs turning up for the slaughter.
With many claiming that the struggling Saints might threaten to take the infamous 2008 record of a Derby County who picked up a paltry 11 points all season, many have already written this one off on the coupons as a routine home victory.
Mikel Arteta and an Arsenal collective who are still desperately searching for signs of Liverpool fallibility won't have circled this one on the calendars as a potential slip-up by their rivals. There is also a suggestion that a 16-point advantage that comes with victory on Saturday might just be the day when the raging against the dying light ends at the Emirates and finally gives way to acceptance.
That, though, is why Slot has been at pains to stress that the collective gaze should not veer past Southampton and into next week where Paris Saint-Germain are hosted in the second leg of their Champions League clash before the Carabao Cup final at Wembley with Newcastle United. It's a fair point and it is Slot's job to ensure the players remain as fixated on the next game as possible.
"Make no mistake, [Saturday] is a very important game," says captain Virgil van Dijk. "I know some people outside of Liverpool will look at the Premier League table and think this could be a straightforward afternoon for us, but I can assure you that none of us players will feel that way."
To help with that, however, the Reds boss knows he needs the full backing of the Anfield patrons on the day. The healthy advantage should theoretically mean the almost tangible tension against Wolves will now be replaced by something more celebratory but, like the players, match-goers still have a major part to play, argues the Liverpool boss.
"Yeah, I think every set of fans at home across the world, they help their team but I am only here for seven or eight months now but Virgil is here for seven or eight years, so he knows better than me and as well as you guys (reporters) how much an impact the fans can have at Anfield," Slot says.
"That is why we are expecting almost, because they have always done this, to show in the last six home games we have. And, yeah, I would say it is the minimum we can ask from them and the minimum they can ask is our players give everything they have during the game and I have full confidence they will do what we are hoping for to help us in these six games."
Speaking in his open press conference on Friday morning, Slot also said: "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."
For the players, there is clearly still a job to be done but it's interesting to hear Slot demanding a similar focus, of sorts, from the supporters too as the Reds continue to close in on glory.
The message is clear: it's a collective effort - and nothing is won, yet.