Liverpool are way behind in the title race but are still within touching distance of the top four positions.
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Liverpool will resume their Premier League duty from international break with a trip to Etihad Stadium for a mouth-watering contest against Manchester City on Saturday. This game has all the ingredients to be a pulsating tie even though it is not a direct title battle. Liverpool are way behind in the title race but are still within touching distance of the top four positions. Hence, they would need the maximum points to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Meanwhile, Manchester City are placed second and will be keen for a victory to maintain the lead with Arsenal at the top spot.
For Liverpool, the entire next week is a challenging one. After facing City, the Reds travel to Stamford Bridge for a blockbuster encounter against Chelsea. Few days later, they welcome league leaders Arsenal to Anfield. Liverpool’s full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold outlined the importance of the upcoming week, as he hopes for a big end to the season. “We know we’ve got it in us – I think we haven’t shown that this season,” he told Liverpoolfc.com.
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“But we’ve been together as a group long enough to know our qualities and we know that we are able to put a run of great results together. There’s no better way to go and start than against the reigning champs. We’re excited to go and try to get that started on Saturday. We’ve got our aims now to go and make sure we get Champions League football for next season. This is a very important week to go on and secure that really.”
Liverpool are sitting sixth in the Premier League table with 42 points from 26 games. They still have 12 games left to salvage something out of the faltering season. “I think it’s important for us to go out there and to perform. But when it comes down to this time of the season, it’s more about results than performances. So, we’ll do anything to win the games that we need to. Twelve huge games for us and hopefully we’re able to pick some consistency up along the way and win games because we need the points,” he elaborated.
Trent Alexander-Arnold also emphasised how difficult it is to play defending champions Manchester City. However, he is confident of getting a positive result at the Etihad Stadium. “Every time you play against Man City, the motivation’s there no matter what. Over the past five, six years, I would say us and them have been the best teams in the league, and they show their quality year in, year out and consistently. They’re always up there as one of, if not the best team in the world. That’ll be the same on Saturday. We need to play a really good game and execute our game plan to have a chance of winning it. I think we’re able to go there and get the result but it’s about making sure we earn it,” he explained.
The fixtures keep getting difficult for Liverpool. After Man City, they face Chelsea and Arsenal in their next two league games. Asked how pivotal could this next week be, Alexander-Arnold replied, “Definitely, I think [if] we get three big results and it’s game on really, and hopefully the season pushes on to be a good one. These three results can define the season if we let it and if we want it to. We want to go out there and win all three games – and that’s our plan.”
“I think as a team we’ve probably lacked that confidence at times during the season. But to go and get big results against big teams will instil that confidence back within us. We’re excited as a team, we’re looking fresh, good in training and we’re excited. It’s going to be a big week and then hopefully a big end to the season for us.”
