

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is set to rotate his Premier League champions for the final four league games of the season.
Liverpool have four matches of their season remaining, starting with a trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to face Champions League-chasing Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca’s side currently sit fifth in the table, and a rotated Liverpool could offer them an advantage in the race for the top five.
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Slot believes the strength of the opponent provides the challenges that will keep Liverpool focused but he will use the upcoming matches as an opportunity to give minutes to some of the players who have featured sparingly during the campaign, while also having an eye on next season.
“It’s the end of the season, but we also have to look at this as the start of next season already,” Slot said. “There will be a certain rotation in the upcoming games. My lineups will be different towards the one we’ve had mostly during the last 10 months. We’re not gonna change everyone but there will be a few players that come into the team.
“That’s not to say that we’re going to lose them. We have a lot of trust in the players we are going to play now. I think some of them deserved to play already earlier this season, because they trained so well and they are good enough to play for this club, but I mainly chose the same players. This is also a moment to see where they are, also looking towards next season, maybe a bit already, but definitely also because they deserve to play.”
Players including Wataru Endo, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott have all had limited roles this season, although Slot, who has seen them every day in training, believes they have nothing to prove.
Elliott recently spoke about his future and remains determined to succeed at Liverpool and the next four games may provide him an opportunity to impress,
“It’s very important that players who are here with us like to stay,” Slot said. “That’s a big compliment to everyone working here. Harvey is one of the players that haven’t had as much playing time as he maybe deserves.
“He’s in competition with so many good players that mainly I have chosen other players. Also, partly because he was injured for a long time and I’ve been honest with him, the first part after he came back from his injury, he wasn’t the same as he was before his injury. The last few months, he’s back to his old level again.
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“There was no need for me to start with different players, but I think if you look at the amount of minutes he had in the last couple of months and the time before you can see it goes up already. That tells you that I like him more now than I did when he came back from his injury
The Liverpool head coach has had an enjoyable week after clinching the Premier League title last week and described doing that and the celebrations as one of the best days of his life.
The 5-1 victory over Tottenham sealed the title in Slot’s first season in charge and celebration in and around the ground continued long into the night.
The Dutchman was inundated with messages including from his predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
“It’s been amazing, especially Sunday, maybe for all the Liverpool fans one of the best days of their lives and it was the same for me,” Slot said during his press conference.
“The way the whole day went, arriving at the stadium, how intense the fans already were. During the game, going 1-0 behind so it felt like we had to work for it, scoring the goals. Seeing how much it meant to the players and the fans and for me was really special to be a part of.
“(I’ve had) A lot of messages. They come from a good heart and it’s always nice to get these messages. I’ve tried to answer all of them. Jurgen’s message was what most of them said, ‘congratulations’ and ‘now you know how special the club is’, ‘you are part of history’, these kinds of things.
“He was really happy for me, for the players, the staff and the fans.”
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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