Liverpool's Champions League Pole Position Bonus & Benefit

It is turning into quite the first season in charge for manager Arne Slot as nobody in the Liverpool fanbase thought he would hit the ground running at this speed as he replaced the retiring, and well loved, Jurgen Klopp, over the summer yet here we are.

14 games into our Premier League campaign (with a game in hand) we have eleven wins and two draws, an 18 plus goal difference and 35 points on the board already - four points clear of nearest chasers Chelsea who occupy second spot. For those fans who use Betpanda Crypto Casino, they would certainly be happy with a return like that on the various games on offer.

On a Champions League front we are also flying in the newly revamped format, and thanks to a 1-0 midweek victory over Girona in our latest match, we are again clear in top spot with six wins from six matches with a five point buffer on all the sides below us.

In basic terms, it means that with matches remaining against Lille and PSV Eindhoven in January, it would take the mother of all slip ups for us not to qualify through to the next phase of the tournament on the automatic basis.

Victories over AC Milan, Bologna, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid ahead of Girona would do that would it not!

Avoiding the Play Off round of matches that those who finish in the 9 to 24 places in the league will face, naturally brings a few benefits as Slot looks to keep our incredible form going in the second half of the year. Namely, we slightly reduce fixture list congestion and it should allow our gaffer to experience a smaller headache as we near the end of the campaign and efforts really begin to catch up with players.

Of course, it translates as two fewer games in the Play Off two legged affair which will take place in February, which is as interesting month for us as we look to the FA Cup fourth round, and our away trip to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side, so not having two games shoehorned in is an obvious benefit.

It is also worth considering that City could come into the tie slightly fatigued as their route through to the next round will likely be via the Play Offs. But obviously if we can free those two game slots up, we are better placed to deal with the rearranged clash with Everton in our final Goodison Park visit.

Should we be able to maintain our form and seize top spot, as is traditional in the Champions League success in the earlier stages of the competition - at least on paper - generally gives a far easier route through to the final itself, and as the table stands we will be facing a non-Premier League opponent who makes it through the Play Offs.

It also goes without saying that a qualification bonus of £9.27 million would help future transfer budgets, particularly if we do lose some key players at the end of their contracts come the summer. It should not be forgotten, we have already won £10.4 million from the first stage game so far as well and we have a league finish bonus to come on top of that.

For now though, we just have to focus on the final two games and what will be will be.

Written by Alan Spencer