Liverpool faces a quiet March with their early FA Cup defeat at the hands of Plymouth Argyle.
If you Google ‘Liverpool fixtures’, you’ll see an interesting result. The Reds face a daunting run of games following their humiliating FA Cup loss at the hands of Plymouth Argyle.
In 14 days, they will visit Everton, host Wolverhampton Wanderers, travel to Aston Villa and Manchester City, and host Newcastle United. With all of that to come before the end of February, Arne Slot’s team will undoubtedly need to perform much better than they did against the Pilgrims.
But gaze beyond such a stretch, and you will be confronted by a far more exciting spectacle in March. As things stand, Liverpool are only pencilled in to play once according to the search engine.
After hosting Newcastle on February 26, the Reds face Southampton at home on March 8. They then have to wait 25 days to continue their Premier League campaign, with Everton visiting Anfield for the season’s second Merseyside derby on April 2.
Of course, we know that Liverpool will not play just once in March.
Liverpool will have three weekends off next month, as alterations to the FA Cup schedule this season mean they will not be in action on March 1-2 and March 29-30, when the fifth round and quarter-finals take place.
They have a League Cup final to look forward to against Newcastle United at Wembley on March 16, while they will face one of Paris Saint-Germain/Brest and Benfica/Monaco in the Champions League round-of-16 on March 4/5 and March 11/12.
But it is true that they will go nearly a month between Premier League fixtures, courtesy of their trip to Aston Villa being brought forward after the Reds booked their place in next month’s League Cup final.
Meanwhile, the March international break is scheduled for March 17-25, which explains why the Reds are also off the weekend of March 22-23.
Slot made wholesale changes against Plymouth, leaving 11 senior players at home, as he did against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last month, to ensure his star players are in peak condition for their hectic schedule this month.
But their early FA Cup elimination has ultimately reduced the workload Slot’s squad will face during final months of the season, ensuring they will be well rested for both the Premier League run-in and knockout stages of the Champions League.
Arsenal, Liverpool’s nearest Premier League championship contender, had already had such a luxury after being knocked out of the FA Cup third round by Manchester United. They recently had a weekend off as a result of their early elimination.
With the Gunners needing to make up at least a six-point deficit if they are to catch the Reds at the top of the league, such weekends off were viewed as a potential boost to their title aspirations.
However, Liverpool’s own untimely withdrawal has almost completely negated this advantage.
And when you consider Arsenal’s own schedule around this time, it may play even more to the Reds’ advantage.
Arsenal will face Manchester United (March 9) and Chelsea (March 16) in the Premier League next month, after finishing February away at Nottingham Forest. In the Champions League round of 16, they will also face Juventus/PSV Eindhoven or AC Milan/Feyenoord.
While Liverpool could play PSG in their most challenging Champions League round-of-16 matchup, either Serie A powerhouse would be a more daunting scenario for Mikel Arteta’s team.
Beyond such European achievements, when the Reds return to Premier League action against Everton on April 2, the title race will be much clearer heading into the last nine games.
Losing against Plymouth will sting for Slot and his team, but it will be quickly forgotten if Liverpool wins the Premier League title.
