Liverpool supporters are preparing for a party on Sunday as they wait to be crowned Premier League champions.
It is not a given that the Reds will earn the point they need against Tottenham Hotspur, but it feels like a big weekend on Merseyside.
Once the title is done and dusted, the praise will rightly rein down on Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
Slot has achieved a remarkable first season at Anfield and is set to match Jurgen Klopp’s number of Premier League titles at the very first attempt. He deserves all the positivity that is coming – and will come – his way.
However, if there’s one grumble Liverpool fans have had towards Slot this season, it has been his apparant lack of willingness to rotate his team.
Some have felt the likes of Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa have deserved more game time, but Slot has often held them back instead. As the campaign draws to a glorious close, the Liverpool head coach has given a new insight into why this may have been.
Arne Slot points to rotational research
There truly has been little to get upset about for Liverpool supporters this season. There have been some poor performances and some difficult moments as always, but it is set to end in a league title win.
For Slot, things have gone just about as well as they possibly could. However, the Dutchman’s decision to continuously overlook the likes of Elliott has stuck in the craw of some.
Appearing on Men In Blazers on Friday, Slot went some way to explaining his thinking regarding changing his team week-to-week and it offers a fascinating insight into why he often picks the same players.
“There’s a lot of research done about the longer the team plays together, the better they start to play, or the more often they play together, the better they play as well,” begins the 46-year-old.
“That’s why I am not a big fan of rotating the team every single game by five, six or seven positions, because I think that doesn’t help you to get the right automatisms, so key players are important and vital.
“This is the second season this team is playing together, so that helps us improve,” Slot adds. “But sometimes it’s good to inject some new energy, some new players. You have to find the balance. Last season we made the choice to keep everyone, the new manager was maybe the new energy at that time. We will see where we are going next season.”
Slot stance may come back to bite Liverpool
When things are going well, this is an easy stance to maintain for Slot. If the team he picks keeps winning titles, there’s not much argument against it.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 33 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 75 | 31 | 44 | 79 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 63 | 29 | 34 | 67 |
| 3 |  Man CityManchester City | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 43 | 23 | 61 |
| 4 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 53 | 39 | 14 | 60 |
But there will inevitably come a time when it is no longer working for Liverpool and results take a downturn.
At that time, it will be interesting to see whether Slot is willing to change his approach to get results back on side.
This is an admirable stance to take in a world where certain clubs seem to have a rotating cast of players season upon season. But it can also be a dangerous one.
Players like Elliott may look to leave if they’re not afforded more game time, while it might be tricky to attract new signings if they are unsure of how much they’ll get on the pitch. As Slot says, a balance needs to be struck. So far that has been the case. But it may not last forever.
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