Assessing Key Fixtures for Liverpool this Season

The 2024/25 season marks a key time in the history of Liverpool Club. Following the huge success of Jurgen Klopp, successor Arne Slot has taken on the job to keep pushing the Reds forward. The Dutchman has enjoyed a fine start to life at Anfield. Slot has guided his Liverpool team to three straight victories at the beginning of the campaign.

After a strong start to the season, some fans will be placing a sports bet to back the Reds for a successful campaign and add an extra thrill to matches. This article will explore Liverpool’s fixtures and assess their chances both at home and in Europe.

Pushing for the Premier League Title?

Liverpool have enjoyed an impressive opening to the Premier League, winning at newly-promoted Ipswich Town and beating Brentford at home before going to Old Trafford and defeating rivals Manchester United. However, as the saying goes, it is a ‘marathon not a sprint’ and the club will be fully aware of the need for consistency if they are to really push for top spot having competed for first place in recent seasons.

Some doubted whether the Reds would still be in the title conversation following Klopp’s departure but Slot’s stunning set-up to defeat United has instilled confidence and belief at this early stage that the team can challenge champions Manchester City and Arsenal.

Looking at the fixture list, there are a number of key games which will define Liverpool’s campaign in the Premier League. The Reds have a strong chance to make it five wins from five with Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth up next at Anfield.

During the busy Christmas period, Slot’s men will travel to London twice, first taking on Tottenham and later facing West Ham. Before the second trip to the capital, the Reds will host Leicester on Boxing Day and host Manchester United in the first clash of 2025.

At the business end of the season in May when Liverpool will be hoping to still be in contention for a shot at the title, the Reds face some tricky fixtures. At the start of the month they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, a side who have consistently come up against Liverpool at key moments over the last two decades. They then welcome Arsenal to Anfield which could conceivably be a title race fixture and could spell the end of the run for one of the teams. Next is a tough test at Brighton before a final day home match with Crystal Palace.

New Champions League Format

Liverpool are Champions League regulars and know how to navigate Europe’s top sides having won the competition this century. However, this campaign is all changed after UEFA introduced a new format. The original group stage of 32 teams, featuring eights groups of four with sides facing each other twice, once at home and another away has been ditched and replaced by a league system featuring 36 clubs.

Playing eight matches as opposed to six in the new format of the opening phase, the Reds will host Bologna, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid and Lille while travelling to Milan, RB Leipzig, Girona and PSV Eindhoven. While the top eight sides will progress to the Last 16, the teams finishing between ninth and 24th will meet in a play-off. If Liverpool were to finish 25th or lower, they would be eliminated from Europe entirely.

The Reds in the FA Cup

Liverpool have lifted the FA Cup on eight occasions and are often among the favourites to win the competition each year. Entering the competition at the Third Round stage, the Reds will have to win four matches to reach the semi-finals at Wembley. The Merseyside club’s most recent FA Cup triumph came at the famous national stadium in 2022 when they defeated Chelsea on penalties after the game finished goalless. Left-back Kostas Tsimikas scored the deciding spot-kick.

This time, they will find out their first opponents when the draw is made in early December and could face one of the fellow 19 Premier League clubs, one of the 24 outfits in the Championship or one of the 20 sides who triumphed in the Second Round which could be a team from League One, League Two or non-League even.

League Cup Test

The Reds have won the League Cup a record ten times, lifting the trophy just last season after beating Chelsea courtesy of Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time winner.

This season, due to their participation in Europe, Liverpool did not play in the second round and instead start their League Cup journey in the Third Round against West Ham. The Hammers’ best shot at silverware is likely this tournament and they will be a difficult opponent for the Reds with a number of players, including Jarrod Bowen, capable of scoring important goals. However, with home advantage, Liverpool will be confident of winning under the Anfield lights.

Summing Up

While this could be a season of transition for Liverpool and the last year Mohamed Salah will spend representing the Reds, Arne Slot and his team will be determined to continue from where Jurgen Klopp left off and deliver trophies to the fanbase.

While the Champions League now consists of more games, the club will be confident they have the quality and strength in depth to compete in Europe and win the games require to win one of the domestic cups. Though Manchester City are favourites for the Premier League title, the strong start has ensured Liverpool can challenge with confidence.