Arne Slot keen to 'skip' Champions League games as Liverpool take on Girona

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has downplayed the significance of a top-eight Champions League finish in the domestic title race but is eager to “skip” an extra round of European matches regardless.

The Reds would avoid a two-legged playoff tie if they finish in the top eight of the Champions League league phase table, securing direct passage to the last 16.

But despite leading the Premier League and currently topping the Champions League table with five consecutive victories, Slot remains pragmatic about the impact it would have on their title bid to avoid the playoffs.

Arsenal sit seventh while Manchester City hold the 17th spot, which is an unseeded play-off position, and Chelsea leads the Conference League table.

Slot said: “If we end up in the top eight I assume these clubs end up in the top eight as well: Arsenal I think 95 per cent sure, City have to do a bit more maybe but they are able to win three times in a row so then they will be in top eight.

“Of course it seems to be really helpful to end up first eight but if every time you play all your (first-choice) starters, as we have done almost every time, then you also need the results because we try to finish as high as possible and also to skip the next round.

“If in the end it means by playing starters always and skipping the next round and still we have a very difficult draw then maybe we will think about it differently next season, what we will do in the group stage.

“You never know if it (missing the play-off round) is an advantage. Until now we have played every three days and we haven’t done that bad – maybe we should implement some friendly games if we finish top eight!

“But we are pushing really hard to finish top eight for the best possible seeding but also to skip that round.”

Liverpool could reach a new milestone in their European journey, as this could mark only the second time they win their first six matches of a campaign. They achieved seven straight victories in the 2021-22 season.

The Reds have received a significant boost with Alisson Becker returning to the squad after missing 11 matches due to a hamstring injury.

In Alisson’s absence, deputy Caoimhin Kelleher impressively kept five clean sheets, including against giants Real Madrid and Manchester City. However, Kelleher recently showed vulnerability as he made a costly error at Newcastle which led to the match ending in a gripping 3-3 draw.

Slot has confirmed that Alisson is ready to start, saying: “I think it speaks for itself. If you can play with Alisson, who has been so outstanding for the club for so many years and for the Brazil national team, that is definitely nice to have him back.

“But if you then look at how his replacement did it is not going to be easy to do even better. We expect the same, and maybe on margins a bit better but Caoimh did so well we can say we have two good goalkeepers.

“But for so many years Alisson has been so outstanding for this club and we are expecting him to do the same over the next few months.”

Girona midfielder Oriol Romeu, formerly of Southampton and Chelsea, acknowledges the challenge ahead in their upcoming match: “We have to approach it as a historic and unique match but we have to work on it to arrive with options.”

He described Liverpool as “an electric, dynamic, vertical, very attacking team” and stressed the importance of disrupting their flow: “To suffer as little as possible we have to make them feel uncomfortable.”