Liverpool must strike a delicate balance between putting their best foot forward in the Champions League and getting back into the competition next season.
That might well become much easier as one of the Reds’ top-five rivals find themselves falling off the pace.
When Liam Rosenior took over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea went on an impressive win — winning all games in his first month bar the two clashes with Arsenal.
In recent weeks, though, things have taken a turn for the worse. They have just one win in their last five Premier League outings, as well as being dismantled by PSG in the round of 16 earlier this week.
CHANGE MY MIND: Liverpool are still the best team in Europe on their day
After watching all of the other quarter-finalists, the Reds have nobody to fear in the Champions League 🏆
Chelsea look less and less of a threat to finish ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League, and that’s great for a couple of reasons.
Liverpool can prioritise Champions League by stretching a lead over Chelsea
As it stands, the race for Champions League qualification is incredibly close.
Liverpool are sat in fifth, just one point ahead of Chelsea.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  ArsenalArsenal | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 22 | 39 | 70 |
| 2 |  Manchester CityManchester City | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 60 | 28 | 32 | 61 |
| 3 |  Manchester UnitedManchester United | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 54 | 41 | 13 | 54 |
| 4 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 51 |
| 5 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 40 | 9 | 49 |
| 6 |  ChelseaChelsea | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 53 | 35 | 18 | 48 |
Liverpool have been far from models of consistency, but Arne Slot has made improvements, and his side looks to be on an upward trajectory.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are getting worse. On top of that, Aston Villa look to be slowing down as well. If the Reds can string together a couple of decent results, they should find themselves with breathing room in the race for the Premier League top five.
That would give Liverpool and Slot the chance to redirect focus to the Champions League, rotating where needed while staying on track for their qualification objective.
That starts with getting three points against Brighton on Saturday.
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