Arne Slot will value a game once a week to start the season, but he will then quickly be head first into a relentless run that includes seven games in 22 days across three competitions.
Liverpool started the season successfully at Ipswich and will face Brentford and Man United before the squad jet off for the seasons’ first international break.
Swear they get earlier and earlier each year!
“The good thing is after the first game we have a few normal (free) weeks so pre-season can continue into the season,” Slot said earlier in the summer of the gap between games.
Training blocks are hard to come by – we saw as much during Jurgen Klopp‘s tenure – and that will be the case between the September and October international breaks.
The Reds will play at least 13 games in their first two-and-a-half months under Slot, with seven games in 22 days starting on September 14 and ending on October 5.
September
14: Nottingham Forest (H) – PL
17-19: Champions League MD 1
21: Bournemouth (H) – PL
24/25: Carabao Cup third round
28: Wolves (A) – PL
October
1/2: Champions League MD 2
5: Crystal Palace (A) – PL
The seven games between the international breaks see 12 Premier League points up for grabs, a place in the fourth round of the League Cup and the first two of eight Champions League games.
Slot will have an average of 3.14 days between fixtures, his first taste of the relentless schedule at Liverpool – one that will be repeating itself throughout the campaign.
The Reds currently have an even split of home and away matches during this period but will need to await the League Cup and Champions League draws at the end of August for their full itinerary.
Life does not get any quieter for Slot and Co. after they come back from the second international break in October as there are another seven games in 22 days.
Liverpool’s head coach had the luxury of picking from a fully fit squad in his first game, and the importance of keeping players off the injury list from the get-go is clear to see.
Notably, the Reds will not face a team that finished inside the Premier League‘s top 11 in their first relentless run of the campaign, but they will meet three of last season’s top six in their next block.
Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A) and Aston Villa (H) all await in the league between the October and November international breaks.
We are well and truly locked back into the Liverpool rollercoaster!
