While Liverpool’s 2025-26 Premier League campaign in defence of last season’s title has gone just about as poorly as one could have imagined, with Arne Slot’s Reds slumping to sixth following 23 rounds—and what most consider on paper to be their easiest stretch of the season—things have gone rather well in Europe.
There, facing fewer low blocks and a generally lower level of competition, a talented if dysfunctional Liverpool side are currently sitting fourth in the league phase with one game to play
and know a win in their final game against Quarabag will guarantee a top eight finish while even a draw will all but mathematically do so.
“That we are in this situation is great credit to the players, particularly as our draw was very testing at a time when, by our own admission, our form has not been as strong as we would like it to be,” manager Slot said ahead of Wednesday night’s final game kickoff against the Azerbaijani side under the lights at Anfield.
“Winning games at this level is only ever difficult and so the five victories we have earned out of seven matches so far is a very good return, and now we need to build on that by finishing the job tonight. But for this to happen, we will need to improve on our performance over the weekend when we lost to Bournemouth.
“This defeat was hugely frustrating, especially as we conceded another last-minute goal after getting ourselves back into the game, but the only way to deal with this is to use it to drive us on [and] the team deserved credit for pushing as hard as they did only a couple of days after a Champions League fixture in Marseille.”
On paper, facing the second-place side in the Azerbaijan Premier League at Anfield should just about always end up as a victory for Liverpool, but Quarabag have outperformed expectations in Europe this season and are currently 18th in the league phase table knowing a top-24 finish will take them to the knockous.
Like Liverpool, victory would guarantee that and a draw all but mathematically do so. As such, the Reds’ opponents will be especially determined to earn what would be a famous result. If Liverpool take the win for granted—or allow their limping league form to bleed into Europe—there’s always the chance of an upset.
“This time around, we have more time to recover in between games,” Slot noted. “So hopefully we can bring more freshness onto the pitch. If we can show our quality our chances of reaching the last 16 without a play-off will improve. The best and only approach is to focus on our own game and getting the best possible result.”
