Liverpool face unforgiving post-Champions League tests as fixture reality dawns on Arne Slot

Liverpool will thankfully be back in the Champions League next season, although their return to the tournament brings with it some intense scheduling periods for Arne Slot.

UEFA’s flagship club competition has expanded for 2024/25, meaning that each side will have eight matches in the revamped league phase, rather than the six they had in the time-honoured group stage format.

Reds fans learned of the team’s Premier League fixture list for the new campaign this morning, and it includes some of the toughest test of the season straight after European assignments:

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The good news for Liverpool is that five of those eight matches are at Anfield, although there are nonetheless some serious tests to come off the back of Champions League fixtures.

The two which stand out are the visit to Arsenal in late October and the home game against Manchester City at the end of November, with the other top-four finisher in Aston Villa also on the horizon straight after a European assignment.

A trip to Selhurst Park in the autumn is another game which could bring a sense of trepidation, especially if Oliver Glasner’s side begin the new season as brilliantly as they finished 2023/24.

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Looking at the games just before our Champions League fixtures, there’s a home clash against Chelsea on 19 October, the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on 7 December and a visit to Brentford on 18 January among the trickier assignments which await.

With minimal scope for error in the Premier League in the modern era and the expanded format in Europe, the relentlessness of Liverpool’s fixture schedule for next season will soon dawn on Slot, who’ll also have two domestic cup competitions to factor into the calendar.

The challenges will come thick and fast, but the Dutchman would’ve known that before agreeing to take the job. Let’s hope he’s ready for what awaits!

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