Liverpool Champions League boost nears as Arne Slot gets major encouragement
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Liverpool will discover its last-16 opponent in the Champions League on Friday, before continuing its quest to qualify for next season's competition against West Ham on SaturdayLiverpool head coach Arne Slot during a Champions League press conference.(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)So far this season, Liverpool has generally looked more comfortable in the Champions League than the Premier League, for a variety of different reasons.But unless it wins the whole tournament, qualifying for next year's edition of UEFA's top competition will require finishing above at least one of Chelsea or Manchester United domestically, with the Reds playing catch-up.Aston Villa might be too far ahead to overhaul at this point, while Manchester United is only playing Premier League games because it has no European soccer and is already out of the domestic cups. Realistically, Chelsea is the team that Liverpool should be eyeing to overtake.READ MORE: Liverpool could face nightmare Champions League scenario with path to finalREAD MORE: Liverpool told to sign Fabinho replacement who has been compared to Steven GerrardIn its next few matches, Liverpool has West Ham, Wolves, Spurs, Brighton and Fulham.
Chelsea, meanwhile, has Arsenal, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Everton and then the two Manchester clubs.If Liverpool is to move above Chelsea, then, the next few weeks might be the time to do it. In addition to the Premier League's four spots, the top two performing nations across the continent get an extra place.Liverpool will find out its last-16 opponents in the Champions League later this week(Image: Getty Images)Last season, the Premier League got five places but Spurs also won the Europa League, meaning six English teams qualified.
In addition to the six in the Champions League, there is also Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.Quite simply, it will be very hard for the Premier League teams not to earn the fifth qualifying position from this point, with two German clubs, two Spanish clubs and three Italian clubs now knocked out.Get LFC's 2025/26 season home and away kitsThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn moreFrom $100LFC.comSee the dealLiverpool's home and away strips for the 2025/26 season are the first in their new partnership with adidas.Fans can order jerseys in the US at Fanatics.com or via the LFC Online Store in both the US and across the world.There are far more chances for English teams to pick up wins, which should further strengthen the Premier League's hold on the extra qualification spot.At some point, sides from the same country are likely to face each other, but that is the same everywhere — Bayer Leverkusen, for example, could play Bayern Munich next, depending on Friday's draw.For Liverpool to achieve its minimum aim of getting back into the Champions League, the fifth spot is likely to be required.