Arne Slot’s future hangs within the stability as Liverpool boss ‘wants Arsenal’s assist’
Arne Slot could be banking on help from Arsenal and Liverpool’s Premier League rivals to save his job as his future hangs in the balance after the Reds dropped more crucial points
Arne Slot could be holding out for a favour from his rivals to save his job(Image: Getty Images)
Arne Slot might need a huge favour from Arsenal and Liverpool’s Premier League rivals to save his job.
The Dutchman performed brilliantly in his first season at Anfield, winning the title at a canter. But since splurging almost half a billion, Liverpool have gone backwards in a nightmare campaign so far – throwing away two points on Sunday when Richarlison earned a broken Tottenham side a late point and only added to the pressure on Slot’s shoulders.
Many observers have predicted that anything less than securing a place in the Champions League next season could result in Slot being sacked in the summer. Liverpool currently sit fifth in the Premier League, two points behind Aston Villa in fourth. Last season, fifth was enough to secure Newcastle a spot in the Champions League through the revamped format with just 66 points – the same points difference to Everton in 13th.
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That was down to the Premier League’s place in the UEFA coefficient ranking for the 2024/25 season, which saw an extra place in Europe’s top competition awarded. Meanwhile, Tottenham made it six English clubs in the Champions League by earning qualification through beating Manchester United in the Europa League final.
England still lead the coefficient rankings for the 2025/26 season, ahead of Spain in second and Germany in third, but that could all change this week. Two points are awarded for a win, and one for a draw across the three European tournaments in the rankings. Additional points are awarded for progressing through the rounds.
In positive news for Premier League hopes of a fifth place, bonus points were awarded for the position clubs finished in the league phase, with five English clubs coming in the top eight of the Champions League and Arsenal topping that stage.
Points earned are then divided by the number of teams each country entered into the European competition – in the Premier League’s case, it’s nine.
However, after Aston Villa in the Europa League were the only one of eight Premier League sides in European competitions to win their first-leg last week, England’s place in the rankings would seemingly drop massively if the majority of clubs were knocked out this week.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all lost by a three goal margin away from home against PSG, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid respectively. Liverpool must overturn their 1-0 defeat away at Galatasaray.
Arsenal and Newcastle both drew their first legs 1-1, although there may be different levels of belief in either camp, with the Gunners playing Bayer Leverkusen at home on Tuesday and Newcastle travelling to face Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
In the Europa League, Nottingham Forest suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Danish side Midtjylland as Aston Villa beat Lille 1-0 away from home. Crystal Palace also missed the chance to take a first leg lead after they were held at Selhurst Park by Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in the Conference League.
Spain also took five spots last season, with Villarreal coming fifth. But the Bundesliga in third place still remained with four places. In the 2023/24 season, Germany had a fifth team in the Champions League due to their place in the two coefficient points for that season.
However, like England, Spain aren’t in the best position to capitalise and finish in the top two spots. Villarreal picked up just one point in the league phase, with Athletic Club also failing to make the play-off round. However, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are all favourites in their respective ties to reach the quarter-final.
In the Europa League, Real Betis have to overturn a 1-0 deficit to Panathinaikos at home, while Celta Vigo drew 1-1 at home to Lyon in the first leg. Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano are well positioned for their Conference League second-leg, holding a 3-1 advantage over Turkish side Samsunspor.
Germany look certain to be putting more points on their coefficient total after Bayern Munich battered Atalanta 6-1 away from home. Bayer Leverkusen are still in with a shout of making the quarter-final but Kai Havertz’s late penalty sends the tie to the Emirates level. Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund were knocked out in the play-offs and Eintracht Frankfurt failed to make it through the league phase.
Freiburg and Stuttgart must both overturn first-leg Europa League defeats against Genk and Porto. And Mainz were held to a goalless draw by Czech outfit Sigma in the Conference League.
Despite the Premier League’s seemingly precarious position, it’s projected by Opta that even if English sides lose every remaining game, no other country is likely to surpass their current average coefficient thanks to their league phase supremacy.
In its current guise, fifth place in the Premier League looks nailed on to be a permanent Champions League spot in the years ahead. Something that could be music to the ears of the under-pressure Liverpool boss.
