Arne Slot will be delighted by what the Premier League fixture list has thrown up (Image: GETTY)
have been given an unlikely helping hand by the ahead of their showdown with . The Reds will need to be at their very best to beat the French champions over two legs and maintain their hopes of winning a seventh European title. It will be crucial for to be in a position to field their best players, with unable to risk rotating his preferred starting side.
They will be helped by the Premier League fixture list, which has thrown up a treat for the Merseyside giants between the two legs. They will face Southampton at home, which is undoubtedly the easiest match of the whole season on paper. It is hard to envisage anything other than a victory given the woeful form the Saints have shown since returning to the top flight.
The Reds could field a weakened side against Southampton on the weekend (Image: GETTY)
It means Slot will be given the opportunity to rest a number of key players without increasing ‘s risk of a shock defeat. They could arguably make seven or eight changes and still expect to win by several goals, meaning they can devote full focus to their European ambitions.
Of course, the Reds will need to offer Southampton a degree of respect in order to avoid being too complacent and slipping to a surprise loss. However, they could probably field a second-string side and still come away with all three points, given just how bad the Saints have been this season.
The two fixtures against PSG are undoubtedly more important, given ‘s healthy lead in the Premier League title race and the uncertainty of facing a top side in a European knockout stage clash.
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The mind games have already started, with PSG boss Luis Enrique stoking the flames in a recent press conference. He insisted that he knows ‘s style of play ‘very well’ and compared them to Lille, who were thrashed 4-1 by PSG over the weekend.
Enrique said: “We’re not going to change much. Today was a test. and Lille have similar things, we put them under such pressure that they could no longer play from the back, they had to play long. It will be different. It will be very complicated, of course, but we are in the best period of the season.”
looked invincible in the league phase of the Champions League, winning all but one of their eight fixtures and finishing top of the pile. It remains to be seen if they will carry that form into the knockout stages, where PSG will be hoping to land a devastating blow.