Will Liverpool Make It Into The Champions League?
The fate of this Premier League season is decided - Manchester City's lead is too much for any of the other contenders to be able to catch them. Now, the battle is ongoing for the lower positions in the rankings, especially the top four. Liverpool is especially bent on finishing the Premier League season in the top four - the stakes are higher than it may seem. It's not only the top-four finish but the club's place in next season's Champions League.
The stakes are high
While Liverpool has no chance to climb any higher than the top four spots in this year's Premier League season, the team's final match is "season-defining" according to Reds manager Jürgen Klopp. And rightly so, because a lot depends on this clash with Crystal Palace.
The team's 3-0 win against Burnley this week didn't come as a surprise. Liverpool was seen as a favourite by analysts and soccer betting outlets alike. Betway lists the Reds as a favourite for Sunday's match against Crystal Palace. But it's not the outright winner of Sunday's match that makes it so important but the result.
A semifinal
Klopp saw Tuesday's match against Burnley as a 'semifinal', a match that was very important to win. And the Reds did it, with a clean sheet. It was the latest in a series of successful matches won by last year's champions that earned the team 23 of the possible 27 points on offer and improved their position significantly in the rankings.
"We knew before the game it would be incredibly tough - they had about 3,500 people not on our side. Atmosphere in football is massive," Klopp told the press after the match. "I thought the boys dealt really well with that. They didn't get distracted - they tried to use it because noise is nice. We played a lot of good football stuff."
What's ahead of the team now is what Klopp sees as a 'final' - a match that will decide if Liverpool can qualify for the next season of the UEFA Champions League.
The result is important, too
But simply winning Sunday's match against Crystal Palace is not enough - Liverpool has to match Leicester's results against Tottenham Hotspur, another match played on the same day. If they do, their place in the Champions League is assured.
The team will spend the next few days recovering after the tiring match against Burnley, and on Sunday, they'll return to Anfield for the "final". For the first time in a very long time, they'll play in front of 10,000 fans as the stadium finally opens up in front of a live audience. Hopefully, the cheers will give the players wings!