🗓️ Back with a bang: All to play for in April as Liverpool hope to line up glorious Klopp send-off
With the international break done and the players returning to their clubs, Liverpool face into a 28-day spell which, if all goes to plan, could set up the perfect finale for Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
So here we go, then. No more international breaks or any other interruptions to the season - the all-important run-in has arrived for Liverpool.
Even with no more domestic cup games on the horizon, the Reds could still play 15 matches in just seven-and-a-half weeks if they’re to reach the Europa League final, on top of the 10 remaining fixtures that they have in their Premier League title charge.
Nine of those potential 15 will be played out between now and the end of April, with no more than four days between any of LFC’s fixtures in that period. Suffice to say that crunch time has well and truly arrived.
The clocks going forward and the return of post-7pm daylight from Sunday brings with it a stark reminder that the end of the campaign is now in sight, and in 2024, that means Jurgen Klopp’s swansong is no longer a speck in the distance.
The German has taken charge of 477 matches for Liverpool. He might have only a dozen more remaining, although the hope is that his reign will end with him securing the one trophy which has eluded him at Anfield and tasting Europa League glory in Dublin on 22 May.
That fairytale finish won’t be on his mind right now, though; not with a glut of pivotal Premier League assignments in the meantime, with the Reds having minimal margin for error as they seek to fend off Arsenal and Manchester City for the title.
Let’s look towards the results from corresponding fixtures last term (or in the most recent applicable season), as well as this period of the 2022/23 campaign.
⏪ Liverpool’s results from corresponding games in 2022/23 (or previous seasons where applicable)
Liverpool’s first match after the March international break is a home fixture against Brighton, who haven’t lost at Anfield since November 2019. Their most recent visit ended in a 3-3 draw just under 18 months ago, when Roberto De Zerbi took charge of the Seagulls for the first time and Leandro Trossard netted a hat-trick.
The Reds are at home once more four days later when Sheffield United come to Merseyside. Their last trip to Anfield came in October 2020, when they took an early lead through Sander Berge but ended up losing 2-1.
On 7 April, Liverpool go to Old Trafford for the second time in 22 days, with revenge on their minds not just for the recent FA Cup defeat but also the 2-1 loss away to Manchester United in the early weeks of last season.
The Reds are back in Europa League action on 11 April when they host Atalanta, who actually won 2-0 at Anfield in the Champions League group stage three seasons ago.
Three days later, it’s another home fixture as Crystal Palace come to L4 hoping to at least match the 1-1 draw they earned on their last visit in August 2022, when Darwin Nunez was sent off on his Anfield debut for LFC.
Later that week, Klopp’s team are off to Italy for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final. A repeat of their previous trip to Bergamo would do nicely - the Reds won 5-0 there in the Champions League in November 2020.
A triple header of away Premier League fixtures in one relentless week in late April begins with Fulham at Craven Cottage, where the teams drew 2-2 on the opening weekend of last season (and 1-1 in the Carabao Cup in January 2024).
Then it’s the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, which ended 0-0 last term - a result for which Liverpool were eventually grateful as Everton had found the net through Conor Coady, only for VAR to chalk off the goal.
The Reds round off April with another visit to the capital, this time away to West Ham. When that fixture rolls around, it’ll be just over a year to the day since we won 2-1 at the London Stadium, courtesy of goals from Cody Gakpo and Joel Matip.
🗨️ 21 Premier League points are on offer to Liverpool between now and the end of April - how many do you think they’ll need to remain in the title hunt going into May? Which of next month’s fixtures looks the trickiest? Have your say in the comments below.
📅 Liverpool’s results from corresponding period in 2022/23
From the conclusion of the spring international break to the end of April 2023, Liverpool played seven matches, all in the Premier League as their knockout commitments had ceased by that point.
The Reds came back for duty with a whimper as they were thrashed 4-1 at Manchester City at the start of the month, following that up with a dreary 0-0 stalemate away to Chelsea, who were under the caretaker stewardship of Bruno Saltor after Graham Potter was sacked.
Then came another draw, this time against Arsenal, although the manner in which LFC fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a point thanks to a late Bobby Firmino equaliser ultimately proved the springboard for an end-of-season revival which saw Klopp’s team fall narrowly short of miraculously salvaging Champions League qualification.
Leeds had won at Anfield earlier in the season but Liverpool exacted revenge in style at Elland Road with a 6-1 mauling of the Whites, when four Reds forwards were on the scoresheet and the other (Luis Diaz) returned after a six-month injury absence.
That was followed up by a narrow home win over Nottingham Forest and the aforementioned 2-1 victory away to West Ham.
April 2023 ended with a crazy contest against Tottenham at Anfield. Klopp’s side raced into a 3-0 lead inside 15 minutes but saw that sizeable advantage wiped out after Richarlison scored his only Premier League goal of the season in stoppage time. There was still time for one more twist as Diogo Jota netted a 94th-minute winner to make it four wins in a row for LFC, having gone five games without victory prior to that run.
We had no European commitments this time last year, but here’s an encouraging omen for Reds fans - Liverpool have won four out of five continental quarter-final ties during Klopp’s reign. The exception was the Champions League exit to Real Madrid three years ago.
🤔 Concluding thoughts
If the Reds’ results from corresponding top-flight fixtures in 2022/23 are to be mirrored over the coming weeks (along with the most recent home clash against Sheffield United from 2020/21), that’ll see us win twice (v Blades and West Ham), lose at Old Trafford and draw the other four Premier League games before the end of April.
No Liverpool fan needs telling that 10 points from a possible 21 from those games over the next month would see our title hopes brought to Earth in calamitous fashion. However, Klopp’s team are a much stronger proposition now than they were last season, especially during that slow start when we dropped points against Fulham, Palace and Manchester United.
In terms of our European involvement, a repeat of the two scorelines against Atalanta from autumn 2020 would see us into the semi-finals of the Europa League, and a clash against either Benfica or Marseille.
We triumphed 6-4 on aggregate against the Portuguese side in the Champions League quarter-finals two years ago, with Nunez scoring in both legs of the tie.
If those outcomes are to be mirrored as closely as possible over the coming weeks, Liverpool will go into May with another European trophy well within their grasp, but their Premier League title hopes torn asunder.
Thankfully, Klopp’s side have already shown plenty of resilience this season, so we remain confident that the Reds will be fighting strong on two fronts by the end of April, with the fairytale swansong for the 56-year-old still a distinct possibility.
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