{"id":61713,"date":"2025-04-30T01:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T01:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/61713\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T01:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T01:54:17","slug":"will-slot-rotate-after-liverpools-early-title-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/61713\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Slot rotate after Liverpool’s early title win?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool wrapped up the Premier League title with a month to spare on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, there is a bit of trepidation about what comes next.<\/p>\n

The Reds still have four league matches to go in 2024\/25, with nothing of consequence \u2013 from their perspective \u2013 riding on the results.<\/p>\n

So, will Arne Slot use the remaining games to tinker with his starting XI and even rotate some of the \u2018undroppables\u2019?<\/p>\n

The Liverpool manager\u2019s pre-match press conference on Friday will, hopefully, provide some clues as to what he has planned between now and Gameweek 38.<\/p>\n

Until then, we thought we\u2019d look at the players gunning for more game-time, what\u2019s riding on each outstanding fixture, other considerations and any clues from his previous post-title period at Feyenoord.<\/p>\n

THE REMAINING FIXTURES<\/p>\n

Should Slot wish to \u201chave a responsibility to the competition\u201d (more of which below) and stick with strong starting XIs, we\u2019ve listed what\u2019s riding on the result of each fixture:<\/p>\n\nGameweek<\/strong><\/td>\nOpponent<\/strong><\/td>\nWhat could be riding on it<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n35<\/strong><\/td>\nChelsea (away)<\/td>\nUEFA Champions League qualification status for Chelsea.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n36<\/strong><\/td>\nArsenal (home)<\/td>\nUEFA Champions League qualification status for Arsenal, although the Gunners have likely done enough already and could even have qualification assured as early as Gameweek 35.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n37<\/strong><\/td>\nBrighton and Hove Albion (away)<\/td>\nAn eighth-placed finish for Brighton, which could be enough for UEFA Europa Conference League qualification.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n38<\/strong><\/td>\nCrystal Palace (home)<\/td>\nIt\u2019s unlikely but Palace could be in the mix for a top-eight spot and European qualification, too. The Eagles would likely have to win their next three league matches \u2013 and hope others trip up \u2013 to go into Gameweek 38 with any chance of that, however.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

There\u2019ll definitely be something hinging on the outcome of Gameweek 35\u2019s fixture from Chelsea\u2019s perspective. It could be the case in Gameweeks 36-38, too, although even the most optimistic Palace fan would likely say European qualification via the league is unlikely now.<\/p>\n

From Liverpool\u2019s perspective, Gameweek 38 is their final home game of the campaign. It\u2019s also when they\u2019re going to be presented with the Premier League trophy, so they\u2019ll surely want to sign off in style.<\/p>\n

FRINGE PLAYERS DESERVING OF STARTS?\"Slot<\/p>\n

First things first: a number of the players on the bench in Gameweek 34 are already\/have been job-sharing and getting chances.<\/p>\n

Kostas Tsimikas<\/strong> (\u00a34.6m) has ousted Andrew Robertson<\/strong> (\u00a35.8m) from the line-up on a number of occasions this season.<\/p>\n

Diogo Jota<\/strong> (\u00a37.2m) and, to a lesser extent, Darwin Nunez<\/strong> (\u00a37.0m) are part of regular rotation with Luis Diaz<\/strong> (\u00a37.8m) and Cody Gakpo<\/strong> (\u00a37.2m). Of late, it\u2019s been mostly Gakpo and Jota trading starts.<\/p>\n

Curtis Jones <\/strong>(\u00a35.3m) has 16 league starts to his name, providing relief and competition for Dominik Szoboszlai<\/strong> (\u00a36.2m) and Alexis Mac Allister<\/strong> (\u00a36.2m).<\/p>\n

Were Jones, Tsimikas and Jota to get more starts in the final four Gameweeks, it wouldn\u2019t be totally out of keeping with what went before.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for names who truly have been deprived of starts to date, there are three that leap out:<\/p>\n

\"Slot<\/p>\n

Wataru Endo<\/strong> (\u00a34.6m) and Federico Chiesa <\/strong>(\u00a36.8m) are in competition with ever-presents Ryan Gravenberch<\/strong> (\u00a35.0m) and Mohamed Salah<\/strong> (\u00a313.8m), although Chiesa has been used across the frontline<\/a> in his cameos.<\/p>\n

Harvey Elliott<\/strong> (\u00a35.2m), probably the one whose continued omission has been questioned the most by the support base, has Salah and Szoboszlai to compete with.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI can understand that he is sometimes frustrated by the playing time he gets because he is a good player, he showed at Liverpool already that he is a good player, but he is in competition for players that I hardly take off.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Dominik Szoboszlai is always the one that just keeps on going, he also scores goals but he\u2019s so important for us with all the running he does.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yeah, Mo Salah I think is quite key for everyone as well. So, he has to do it with limited playing time but he just keeps on going.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot on Harvey Elliott, speaking last month<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There are Caoimhin Kelleher<\/strong> (\u00a34.0m), Conor Bradley<\/strong> (\u00a34.7m) and Jarell Quansah<\/strong> (\u00a33.9m), too, understudies in goal, at right-back and at centre-half respectively. Bradley is expected back in training this week.<\/p>\n

PERSONAL GOALS STILL AT STAKE\"FPL<\/p>\n

Chiesa needs one more appearance to qualify automatically for a winner\u2019s medal, although a) that appearance could simply be a cameo off the bench and b) Liverpool get given 40 medals to distribute at their discretion anyway.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, with the Golden Boot all but assured, Salah has one eye on the record for most attacking returns in a Premier League campaign. He\u2019s one away from the current record of 47 goal involvements.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cGoal involvements, for sure\u2026 hopefully I\u2019m going to break it soon. I know I broke the record for 38 games. Now one goal or one assist to go I think? I counted!\u201d \u2013 Mohamed Salah<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Alisson<\/strong> (\u00a35.1m) is unlikely to win the Golden Glove, however: he\u2019s three clean sheets adrift of Matz Sels<\/strong> (\u00a35.1m).<\/p>\n

WHAT SLOT DID AFTER WINNING THE TITLE AT FEYENOORD\"\"<\/p>\n

Now, onto the main crux of this article: what Slot did after his one and only previous title win at Feyenoord.<\/p>\n

The Dutch side clinched the 2022\/23 Eredivisie crown with two games to spare. Remaining on their fixture list were clashes with Emmen (16th, battling to avoid the relegation play-offs) and Vitesse (10th, mid-table obscurity with no chance of European qualification).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Slot did with his teamsheets, starting with the title-clinching win over Go Ahead Eagles:<\/p>\nGameweek 32Gameweek 33Gameweek 34<\/tr>\n\nv Go Ahead Eagles (3-0 win)<\/td>\nv Emmen (3-1 win)<\/td>\nv Vitesse (1-0 loss)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nBijlow; Hartman, Hancko, Geertruida, Pedersen; Wieffer, Kokcu; Idrissi, Szymanski, Paixao; Gimenez<\/td>\nBijlow; Hartman, Hancko, Wieffer, Geertruida; Timber, Kokcu; Idrissi, Szymanski, Paixao; Gimenez<\/td>\nBijlow; Hartman, Hancko, Geertruida, Kasanwirjo; Timber, Kokcu; Idrissi, Szymanski, Jahanbakhsh; Gimenez<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n(1 change, enforced)<\/td>\n(2 changes, 1 enforced)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

So, then, even after the Dutch top-flight title was mathematically secured, Slot stuck with the players who had got the job done.<\/p>\n

Two of his three post-title changes were even enforced thanks to Marcus Pedersen\u2019s injury and Mats Wieffer\u2019s suspension.<\/p>\n

And the one unenforced alteration, Alireza Jahanbakhsh for Igor Paixao on the left wing on the final day, was the kind of regular tweak he\u2019d made during the campaign. Think Jota in for Gakpo on any given Gameweek for Liverpool.<\/p>\n

KEY QUOTES FROM SLOT BEFORE THE EMMEN GAME<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re hoping for some more contemporaneous clues from Slot in his Gameweek 35 presser, we thought we\u2019d revisit his pre-match press conferences for those final two Eredivisie matches in 2022\/23.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the Emmen game, Slot made mention of being a \u201cworthy champion\u201d. Feyenoord\u2019s all-time points record was up for grabs, although the now-Liverpool boss downplayed the significance of that:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t thought about Emmen that much in the past few days, but I did this morning. However, I hardly had to emphasise that Sunday is important again. You want to play as a worthy champion. I think that a possible points record is more important to the trainers than to the players. What is much more important is that they know that they also have to play a number of important matches after the season. Then you can\u2019t sit on the handbrake. I also think that they really enjoy being allowed to play football. They play in a nice team and with pressure, but it might also be nice to do that with less pressure.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot, via Voetbal Nieuws<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Emmen\u2019s survival bid, and ergo Feyenoord respecting the integrity of the league, was also seemingly referenced in the \u201cother interests\u201d comment below:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to win matches anyway. I just said that you have to present yourself as a worthy champion on Sunday, with all kinds of other interests that come with it. I can\u2019t promise that we\u2019ll win on Sunday, but I can promise that there will be a team that will do everything it can to win.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot, via Voetbal Nieuws<\/a><\/p>\n

In terms of players with personal goals, perhaps there\u2019s a positive omen for Salah here. Santiago Gimenez was gunning for the Eredivisie top goalscorer award at the time and, even though he had a very busy summer of Nations League\/Gold Cup action ahead with Mexico, Slot gave him 90 minutes in both post-title games.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t need much time to say that he really wants to play both matches, even though he will have [only] eight to ten days off. He wants to be top scorer, I think. But of course, you also want to play the last match in the home stadium as champion.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot on Santiago Gimenez, via Voetbal Nieuws<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

KEY QUOTES FROM SLOT BEFORE THE VITESSE GAME<\/p>\n

There was another interesting quote ahead of the final fixture of the 2022\/23 season, against Vitesse.<\/p>\n

Slot was asked about keeping a virtually unchanged side against Emmen and why he didn\u2019t \u201creward\u201d fringe players with starts.<\/p>\n

Jacob Rasmussen was one of those \u2013 and the Danish defender was to be left disappointed on the final day, having to make do with a late substitute appearance rather than a start.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf you give 3-4 boys that reward, it also means that you say yes to 7-8 other boys who don\u2019t deserve that reward.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, that is why we also chose too much last week not to make exceptions but just to play with the best team also because we have a responsibility towards the competition but also because I did not want to make exceptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow about the player you mention (Rasmussen), yes. But then another will think, \u2018Yes, but I have also been fantastic and I have also had a lot of value\u2019, so those are departments where I still have to think about how exactly we will get that line-up but we really want to win, I can tell you that.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot, via YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

FINAL THOUGHTS\"FPL<\/p>\n

Slot could make a mockery of this entire piece by claiming he\u2019s now going to rotate with abandon when speaking to the press on Friday.<\/p>\n

But if there\u2019s nothing concrete emerging from that pre-Gameweek 35 press conference, we can at least look to his previous stint at Feyenoord for some clues.<\/p>\n

Loyal to the players who took him to the title, he was also receptive to individuals\u2019 personal goals. In the case we\u2019ve discussed, it was Gimenez\u2019s shot at the Golden Boot. Slot also implied that he\u2019d show consideration for the integrity of the league by continuing to go strong with his starting XIs and rotate no more than usual.<\/p>\n

The quotes above from before the Vitesse game also betray a very unsentimental approach to his squad players. There were no real rewards for bench-warming patience in those final two Eredivisie fixtures.<\/p>\n

If there is a difference at Liverpool, it\u2019s that he\u2019s wrapped up the title even earlier than he did in the Netherlands. With four games still to spare, might he set aside even just one of those matches for the likes of Elliott, Endo and Chiesa? Perhaps if there\u2019s nothing riding on the Arsenal or Brighton games, that would be an opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n

Then again, Feyenoord\u2019s match against Vitesse was a complete dead rubber \u2013 and he still went full strength then.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool wrapped up the Premier League title with a month to spare on Sunday. From a Fantasy Premier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[1121,748,393,4884,179,1128,31845,1047,31846,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-61713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-arne-slot","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-liverpool","13":"tag-mohamed-salah","14":"tag-rotation","15":"tag-salah","16":"tag-slot","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114424425007336409","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}