Arne Slot has referenced Liverpool only winning the league twice in the last 30 years when asked about what he deems an acceptable season.

“When you are Liverpool, the aim is to win the league, but we only did this twice in the last 30 years,” Slot said when asked what he thinks constitutes an “acceptable” season.

Most fans would argue that, given the Reds were champions last season, at least competing for the league and going deep into most competitions, if not winning silverware, should have been the lowest aim.

Slot was vague when asked what he thinks Liverpool should be achieving, saying: “We want to be competitive in every single competition we are in – that’s always the aim – but reality is also in the last three years, we’ve won one League Cup and one Premier League title.

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“So when is things acceptable? I have my opinion about it. I’m not going to share that.

“[The] outside world has its opinion about that. As we all know, a lot’s been said about the £450 million [spent in the summer], but people tend to forget the £300 million we brought in.

“So yeah, I have my opinion about what is acceptable but I’m not going to share that.”

While the Premier League title won’t be won this year, Liverpool can still make the top four, a feat that should be the bare minimum for the champions.

Liverpool’s European form has been better, however, with the Reds currently fourth from 36 in the league phase.

Where Arne Slot thinks Liverpool need to improve

Slot thinks the season is still salvageable, but only if his team improve at either end of the pitch.

The head coach said: “There’s a complete disbalance in how many times we arrive in promising positions and how many times other teams arrive there (in the box).

“But there is not a disbalance in the goals that are scored, and that’s a very bad cocktail we are having. And if we can improve in both boxes, we can do very special things this season.

“If we can only improve in one box, then it’s probably going to be an acceptable season but not more than that, and if we can’t improve in both boxes, there’s going to be a lot of noise throughout the whole season.”

The truth is, if Liverpool don’t improve in both boxes, they may not qualify for next season’s Champions League and it could cost the Dutchman his job.

While some of what Slot says is true, Liverpool have been poor in both boxes, it is also hard to ignore the ample space Bournemouth had to be able to run through the Reds’ midfield at the weekend.

That suggests that far more is wrong than tweaks in the penalty areas. However, given the relative weakness of the league, it wouldn’t require all of their problems to be fixed for Liverpool to finish in the top four.

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Liverpool host Qarabag in the Champions League as the Reds aim to secure a top-eight finish in their final league phase match of the campaign.

Liverpool vs. Qarabag

Champions League (8) | Anfield
January 28, 2026 | 8pm (GMT)

The Champions League has been a source of relief for Liverpool this season as they have jolted from methodical to disorderly in their various competitions.

There is only one objective on Wednesday and that is qualification in the top eight, a feat only guaranteed by beating Qarabag.

Liverpool team news

Liverpool will be without Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez after neither of them trained with the squad on Tuesday.

Konate missed Liverpool’s last two games due to the death of his father, while Joe Gomez went off injured on Saturday having clashed with Alisson as they attempted to prevent Bournemouth‘s first goal.

Arne Slot did have Chiesa back, though, after the attacker got injured in the warm-up before playing Marseille, which led to him missing the trip to Bournemouth.

Liverpool Predicted XI

With Konate and Gomez absent, Liverpool are expected to play Wataru Endo at centre-half alongside Virgil van Dijk, with Jeremie Frimpong on the right and Milos Kerkez or Andy Robertson at left-back.

In midfield, Curtis Jones has been a substitute for the last two matches, so he could come back in as Alexis Mac Allister makes way.

Meanwhile, Hugo Ekitike is also expected to return to the starting XI, having only been on the bench against Bournemouth.

Predicted LFC XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Endo, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Ekitike

How Liverpool can finish in the top eight Champions League Table: Who can still finish in the top 8 Pos Club GD Pts 1 Arsenal (Q) +18 21 2 Bayern Munich (Q) +13 18 3 Real Madrid +11 15 4 Liverpool +6 15 5 Tottenham +8 14 6 PSG +10 13 7 Newcastle +10 13 8 Chelsea +6 13 9 Barcelona +5 13 10 Sporting CP +5 13 11 Man City +4 13 12 Atlético Madrid +3 13 13 Atalanta +1 13 14 Inter Milan +6 12 15 Juventus +4 12

(Q) – Already qualified for the last 16.

Liverpool have already secured qualification from the league phase, but a finish in the top eight, which would mean skipping the play-off round and going straight into the last 16, isn’t yet confirmed.

Heading into the final matchday, Liverpool are fourth with 15 points and a goal difference of six. A win would guarantee passage to the round of 16.

If Liverpool were to draw, there are eight different teams that could realistically go above the Reds. If Liverpool were to lose, there are 11 teams that could go above them.

Put simply, a draw could just get Slot’s side over the line; a loss could see Liverpool drop out of the top eight.

Qarabag’s form Qarabag Form: Last 5 Games
Fixture Result Score Kapaz (H) L 0-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (H) W 3-2 Gabala (A) W 2-1 Sabah (A) L 1-2 Araz-Naxcivan (H) W 5-1

While they may be minnows in comparison to the European behemoth of Liverpool, Qarabag have been quietly performing well in the Champions League this season.

With 10 points from seven matches, they have beaten Benfica, Copenhagen and Frankfurt this season, as well as Shelbourne, Shkendija and Ferencvaros in qualifying.

They did suffer a surprise 2-0 loss at home to Kapaz in the Azerbaijan top flight at the weekend, but they made 11 changes, so the result shouldn’t have a bearing on Wednesday’s match.

Did you know?

By playing against Qarabag, Liverpool will now have faced a club in Europe whose name starts with 25 of the 26 letters of the alphabet. The exception is now only the letter ‘X’!

The Azerbaijani side will make the longest journey of any team ever to make a visit to Anfield for a competitive game against Liverpool – a trip of some 2,583 miles.

Liverpool have won 13 of the last 14 Champions League group/league phase games played at home; the last group loss at Anfield came in 2009 against Fiorentina.

Arne Slot: “Andy Robertson is part of the team”

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Liverpool have ended talks with Tottenham for now over the sale of Andy Robertson due to Roma reportedly not being willing to send fellow left-back Kostas Tsimikas back to Liverpool without a replacement.

Slot now says he expects Robertson to stay, explaining: “Robbo is part of the team tomorrow evening [against Qarabag], and he has been part of this squad and this club for so many years.

“Happy to have him, good that he’s available because that’s quite important for us at the moment! He will be part of the team and nothing happened from my side.

“It’s hard to say anything definitive in this world, but I expect him to stay, yes.”

Who is the referee for Liverpool vs. Qarabag?

Liverpool vs. Qarabag will be refereed by Ivan Kruzliak from Slovakia, with assistance on the sidelines from compatriots Branislav Hancko and Jan Pozor, while Peter Kralovic acts as fourth official.

Meanwhile, Dutch official Pol van Boekel is on video assistant referee duties and will be assisted by Jan Boterberg from Belgium.

Referee Kruzliak has taken charge of Liverpool three times before, the Reds winning all three, the last being at home vs. Genk in 2019.

When is the next round of the Champions League?

The play-off round legs will take place either side of a trip to Nottingham Forest, with the first leg on February 17 or 18 and the second on February 24 or 25.

If Liverpool finish in the top eight, they’ll go straight through to the round of 16.

The first leg of a last-16 tie will take place on March 10 or 11, and the return leg will be on March 17 or 18. Falling between those games is a home match against Tottenham.

Follow the match with TIA

Liverpool vs. Qarabag is live on TNT Sports 2 with kickoff at 8pm (GMT).

TIA’s matchday live blog will be up and running from 7.15pm, with Henry Jackson tasked with keeping you entertained and up-to-date.

Come on you Reds!

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A young Liverpool goalkeeper is set for a move to MLS ahead of the new season, while there has been an update on Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool goalkeeper to make MLS move in January window

Liverpool goalkeeper Fabian Mrozek is expected to join MLS side FC Cincinnati on loan this month ahead of the start of their season on February 21.

According to the Athletic, the transfer could become permanent as a purchase option is to be included in the deal for the 22-year-old, who has been in a senior Liverpool matchday squad six times.

Interestingly, however, he is expected to join as their third-choice goalkeeper, behind Roman Celentano and Evan Louro – which means game time is far from promised!

It is not ideal in the case of loanee goalkeepers to be that far down the pecking order, but Liverpool will hope he gets his opportunity, either for development or to bank a future fee.

The Pole spent the second half of last season on loan at National League side Forest Green but did not secure another move over the summer.

Latest LFC News: Konate and Gomez absent, new signing confirmed and Tsimikas recall latest

• Liverpool will be without Ibrahima Konate (bereavement) and Joe Gomez (hip/knee) against Qarabag, both missed training on Tuesday – expect Wataru Endo at centre-back!

• Reports in Italy have all but put the line through Kostas Tsimikas returning to the club which, in turn, almost certainly rules out any late twist when it comes to an exit for Andy Robertson – who Slot expects to stay, hurrah!

• Liverpool have confirmed their deal worth around £2.6 million with Austria Vienna to sign centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe in the summer – hopefully one of many defensive signings!

• James McConnell has undergone minor surgery to rule out another loan move this season, and Trey Nyoni won’t be going anywhere despite his lack of senior minutes and interest from across Europe

Low block: Arne Slot’s tune has changed

If we all received £1 each time Slot mentioned a low block, we’d be quite well off, but his stance has not always been so opposing, as these quotes from 2024 show:

“I prefer to play against a low block as you have the ball a lot and the other team are far from your goal.

“You’d expect us to create a lot with the quality we have. If every player plays five percent better than vs. Forest, that will make a massive change.”

Football News: Premier League transfers, Jeremy Jacqeut’s Chelsea preference

• Spain have declared they will be hosting the 2030 men’s World Cup final – games are set to be held in six different countries throughout the tournament. Putting the world in World Cup, eh! (BBC Sport)

• Man United‘s Patrick Dorgu is expected to be sidelined for around 10 weeks after a hamstring injury against Arsenal – Liverpool do not face them until May 2 (The Athletic)

• Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet has “expressed a preference” to join Chelsea despite known interest from Liverpool and Bayern Munich, according to Sky Sports. They have a great track record with young players after all…

• Premier League transfer latest: Adam Traore to sign for West Ham, James Ward-Prowse to undergo a medical at Burnley, and Douglas Luiz will return to Aston Villa on loan (The Athletic)

Liverpool FC: On this day

In 2006, Liverpool re-signed Robbie Fowler from Man City on a free transfer, over four years after he first left for Leeds.

Five days after re-signing, he came on as a substitute against Birmingham City and he had an acrobatic injury-time overhead-kick disallowed for offside – what a return that would have been!

Fowler would make just 39 appearances in his second spell at the club, scoring 12 times, but crucially, he was able to say farewell to Anfield this time around.

His career at Liverpool concluded with 183 goals and 369 games, and the nickname God.

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Arne Slot has been vocal about Liverpool’s problems facing facing low blocks this season, but that hasn’t always been the case.

The Reds are smarting after their first defeat in 14 matches, with Bournemouth securing a 3-2 win on Saturday evening.

The Cherries were relatively attack-minded in their tactics, only resorting to a low block at times in the second half, even though that tactic has caused Liverpool problems this season.

Slot has been honest about not wanting to face such teams, responding to Steven Gerrard saying he needs to stop talking about them.

“I think Steven Gerrard has always been very positive, and still is very positive, about Liverpool Football Club. He cares so much about it,” Slot said last week.

“And I think I can only agree with him that I speak a lot of low blocks, because we face a lot of low blocks.

“If people ask me after the game what my opinion about the game is, then I have to describe a low block. But I can also say time-wasting football or different words for it as well.

“Steven also said he faced them when he played – I think he was also one of the players who could unlock the low block, because of the quality that he had.”

Arne Slot in 2024: “I prefer to play against a low block”

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“I prefer to play against a low block as you have the ball a lot and the other team are far from your goal. You’d expect us to create a lot with the quality we have.”

It’s easy to assume that Slot has always felt this way, but speaking in September 2024 before a meeting with Bournemouth, he embraced the prospect of Liverpool facing low-block teams.

“I prefer to play against a low block as you have the ball a lot and the other team are far from your goal,” he said.

“You’d expect us to create a lot with the quality we have. If every player plays five percent better than vs. Forest, that will make a massive change.”

The difference in pressure on Arne Slot

These two sets of quotes were only 16 months apart, but they show how much more relaxed Slot appeared to be early in his reign at Liverpool.

At that point, he could do no wrong en route to winning the Premier League title, no doubt feeling his side could conquer any tactics they came up against.

Now, he is at risk of losing his job, though, and his comments are those of a man feeling the pressure.

Ultimately, Liverpool’s quality of football isn’t good enough to overcome the low block now, whereas last season, it was.

The attacking play is ponderous and the decision-making in the final third is poor, while opponents are also picking the Reds off on the counter-attack.

If things don’t change, there is only one outcome, and Slot needs to worry more about Liverpool than their opponents.

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