RUN-IN ON EMPTY
Klopp’s cherished dream of lifting a farewell title likely to hinge on four tough road fixtures in just 10 days
THEY are the 10 days which will decide Liverpool’s fate.
Four tough away games which will shape the final season of Jurgen Klopp’s glorious reign at Anfield.
Liverpool must go to Atalanta for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday week, followed by a tough trip to Fulham on the Sunday.
Then comes the Merseyside derby at 8pm on Wednesday, April 24. And it is followed by manager Klopp’s worst nightmare: a Saturday lunchtime kickoff at West Ham on April 27 after a match on the Wednesday night.
TV companies have agreed Saturday 12.30pm kick-offs are now a no-go after a European fixture...but the Premier League is less forgiving on this occasion.
If Liverpool can win all four then surely they will have a great chance of finishing the season as champions and also reaching the Europa League final in Dublin on May 22. What a farewell that would be for Klopp (circled).
But those four games and, in particular, the schedule are surely tougher than anything title rivals Manchester City or Arsenal face.
Arsenal have a nightmare April with two ties against Bayern Munich, Aston Villa and Chelsea at home and also the North London derby at Tottenham.
City, meanwhile, have arguably the best run-in with Brighton and Tottenham away the fixtures which stand out as the toughest in the Premier League.
The Tottenham game has yet to be rescheduled because City are still in the Champions League. If City go out to Real Madrid, it could be played in one of the slots set aside for the Champions League. If not, it will have to be played in the final midweek of the season because there is no other way of getting it in.
No team arguably has a schedule as scary as Liverpool’s.
It is why the two points dropped at Manchester United could prove so costly and why Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott insists they have to start being more “selfish.”
Elliott says they cannot worry about City or Arsenal but must just focus on themselves to get through the punishing run-in.
He said: “We just need to be selfish with ourselves.
“We can’t be thinking about other teams and watching what they are doing and basing our games on them.
“We are in the best possible position to do it, we’ve got unbelievable fans behind us who will be backing us in each and every game. We have the team to do it, so who says we can’t?”
Elliott did admit that the Old Trafford game felt like two points dropped because Liverpool had so many chances.
He added: “Whether it was the final pass or the finish, it just wasn’t there for us but unfortunately that’s football. But the fight and desire to keep going until the final whistle was amazing.
“As a team, as a club with the fans backing us, in a stadium like this when it’s not easy at all, it’s a credit to everyone involved.”
Bookies reacted to the Old Trafford draw by making Manchester City the 6-4 title favourites, followed by Arsenal at 7-4. Liverpool have drifted from 11-10 to 9-4.