Guards of honour but no let-ups – What to expect in Liverpool’s final four games

Liverpool have won the Premier League title with four games to spare but how will Arne Slot look at the final few matches now with the party underway

Chelsea will be giving Liverpool a guard of honour on Sunday then hoping the Merseysiders roll out the red carpet for them at Stamford Bridge. But if the Blues are thinking they might be getting an Arne Slot side much rotated and nursing a few hangovers then they’ll be very mistaken.

Liverpool will make a few changes in the next few weeks now they’ve captured their 20th Premier League title. But with nothing else to play for, it’s not expected to be much different in terms of team selection.

Chelsea are desperate for three points as they need Champions League qualification. While Arsenal – depending on how they get on against Bournemouth and PSG in the next week – could be needing a win at Anfield when they visit in 10 days’ time.

READ MORE: Gary Neville admits he ‘SNAPPED’ at Liverpool fans over Anfield abuse in title celebrationsREAD MORE: Liverpool given reality check over transfer plan for Mo Salah successor

While Brighton are still in the mix for European spots. Crystal Palace on the final day may be the only game Liverpool are involved in with nothing riding on it other than a place or two for the visitors at Anfield. So how will Slot look at the next few games?

Well if Chelsea are hoping for Liverpool to still have a few sore heads then they won’t be getting that. Times have changed and although the players who do drink had a few celebratory ones on Sunday night, this was not akin to the 1980s and 1990s.

Far from the days of Roy Keane getting hammered in Mulligans in Manchester the day after United won the title in 1999 and ending up in a police cell. Liverpool’s players will have been worried about their personal recovery sessions than trying to get bail a few days before an FA Cup final like Keane had to.

Don’t be sure Gary Neville is right with his claim that training will be a bit off this week. “Their bodies will just be in shutdown up until Wednesday or Thursday,” he told the Overlap. They’re going to train a bit slower, a bit sloppier, and I think they’ll just get edged out. I think it’ll be 2-1 to Chelsea.”

Or they could have been bouncing into training as champions ready to show why they’re top of the table. When it comes to rotation, don’t expect too much from Slot. There may be a few changes. Alisson will probably continue in goal while at right-back it is expected that Trent Alexander-Arnold will play.

Slot will know the right-back is probably heading for Real Madrid and there’s debate over whether Conor Bradley can be first choice next season or if a new player in the position will arrive. But the Liverpool head coach won’t need to see any more from Bradley. He has seen him in training every week and he has played big games like against Real Madrid earlier in the campaign. He will know already what level he’s at.

Kostas Tsimikas may get some minutes at left-back but he has rotated with Andy Robertson a lot this season while Jarell Quansah may get a start in the final few weeks.

Don’t expect much change in midfield. Wataru Endo probably deserves a start or two but he’s not really able to fulfill the duties Slot wants from kick-off. Curtis Jones may get some more time while Harvey Elliott will certainly want to show a bit more of what he can do.

Mo Salah will be starting you’d imagine. He’s got 28 Premier League goals and needs five to beat his best tally of 32. It would take a bold man to tell him his chances of doing so will be limited.

Darwin Nunez will be hoping for some more time on the pitch but he’s likely to be heading for the Anfield exit door this summer, still. It should also be noted that of all the games Liverpool have won this season, Slot mentioned on more than one occasion since the win over Chelsea at Anfield earlier in the campaign that it was the one game he felt it could be argued they didn’t deserve the victory. So he might want to put that one right on Sunday, too.

Liverpool might be getting some guards of honour in the coming weeks but don’t expect any free gifts in return.

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