Liverpool could find themselves in the Europa League in the most unfortunate manner even if they finish in the top four of the Premier League. As the English top flight’s another season nears its conclusion, teams are fighting all over the place to achieve their goals. Manchester City and Arsenal will go toe-to-toe for the title, while Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle, Brentford, and Brighton are all in with a chance of finishing in the top four.
However, United and Chelsea may have the most influence over who qualifies for the Champions League. Even if Erik ten Hag’s men finish outside of the top four behind fierce rivals Liverpool, they will still have a chance to deny the Merseyside club a place in Europe’s elite competition.
Liverpool’s Champions League hopes still hang by a thread
Liverpool have already faced a lot of agony this season concerning the UEFA Champions League. They faced their biggest defeat at the Anfield in the competition, when defending champions Real Madrid thrashed them 5-2 in the round of 16 first leg. The return leg at the Bernabeu was a mere formality as the Reds lost 1-0 there as well, with the Los Blancos completing a 6-2 rout.
Furthermore, Liverpool are currently sat sixth in the league, seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand. While a top-four finish is still not ruled out at Anfield, Klopp’s men could have to fight for it till the last match-day of the league. However, all their efforts could still go in vain as they can still be denied a Champions League spot if they manage to finish fourth or even third.
To happen so, Liverpool’s archrivals Man United must finish outside of the top four, win the Europa League, and hope Chelsea wins the Champions League this season. Since UEFA only allows five teams from each country to compete in the Champions League, Chelsea’s chances of finishing fourth are rapidly fading as they languish in the tenth place in the league. However, they will qualify if they win the trophy.
By winning the Europa League, which they have a realistic chance of, United will also qualify for the Champions League. This means that the top three in the Premier League will join Chelsea and Manchester United in the competition next season, while Liverpool will be relegated to the Europa League.
On the other hand, Klopp’s Reds are not showing any signs of catching fourth-placed Spurs in the league. A jubilant 7-0 win over United at the start of the month fueled the hope of a Liverpool resurrection. However, they fell to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to bottom-place Bournemouth the next match-day. The road ahead is now set to get more tough for Liverpool as they face a make-or-break situation.
Post the international break, the Reds’ first opponents in the league are Man City away at the Etihad. Pep Guardiola’s team is riding on the outrageous exploits of Erling Haaland who has netted a staggering 28 goals in 26 games. They ten travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea who, like the Reds are embroiled in a struggle to crack inside the top-four. Finally, a difficult run of fixtures ends for Liverpool with a clash against title contenders Arsenal at Anfield.