Saturday’s defeat at Bournemouth extended Liverpool’s winless run in the Premier League to five matches, extinguishing any final flickers of hope of a title challenge. While first place is now completely out of the question, there are also serious doubts over whether Liverpool can qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Failure to qualify for Europe’s top competition is a rare sight for Liverpool these days. Only once since the 2015/16 season have they failed to secure a place among Europe’s elite. Should they miss out again, Arne Slot’s position as head coach would surely come under heavy fire. So, is there any hope the Dutchman can turn things around at Anfield?
Full-time. pic.twitter.com/pI5uFqtqDx
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 24, 2026
Race for Champions League Football – As It Stands
The positive news for Liverpool is that the Premier League is again set to receive five Champions League spots rather than the standard four. Although this is not guaranteed, the strong performances of English teams in Europe so far make it a likely scenario. This means Liverpool could potentially get by with a top-five finish rather than needing to finish in the top four.
| Position | Team | Points | Top 5 Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Arsenal | 50 | 1/1000 |
| 2nd | Man City | 46 | 1/50 |
| 3rd | Aston Villa | 46 | 1/12 |
| 4th | Man United | 38 | 8/15 |
| 5th | Chelsea | 37 | 4/6 |
| 6th | Liverpool | 36 | 4/9 |
| 7th | Fulham | 34 | 16/1 |
| 8th | Brentford | 33 | 14/1 |
| 9th | Newcastle | 33 | 6/1 |
| 10th | Everton | 33 | 16/1 |
| 11th | Sunderland | 33 | 33/1 |
This does not make life massively easier, though. There are currently five teams above Liverpool in the table, only two of which are within touching distance. It is not just about catching one of these two teams either, as there is a threat from the teams below who are hot on the Reds’ heels. Newcastle, in particular, are a danger and seem the most likely to challenge for that final spot as the season progresses.
Despite all the competition for the top five, the bookies think that Liverpool are more likely to pull it off than not. Odds of 4/9 give an implied probability of 69%, but prices can change very easily, especially when looking at upcoming fixtures of Newcastle (H), Man City (H) and Sunderland (A). If Slot’s side put in underwhelming performances in these matches, they could find themselves firmly mid-table by the end of it.
What’s Going Wrong at Liverpool?
After securing four successive wins during the festive period, including an away victory against Inter Milan, it seemed as though Liverpool might finally be finding their groove again. This has not proved to be the case, however, with the Reds slipping up time and time again in the league.
| Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Leeds (H) | 0-0 | Draw |
| Fulham (A) | 2-2 | Draw |
| Arsenal (A) | 0-0 | Draw |
| Burnley (H) | 1-1 | Draw |
| Bournemouth (A) | 2-3 | Loss |
Drawing away at Arsenal is a positive result, but all the other results fall firmly into the ‘disappointing’ category. To be fair, Liverpool have been a little unlucky to come away with just four points from these five games. They were on the verge of beating Fulham, only for an outrageous strike by Harrison Reed in the 97th minute to foil them. There was also an element of misfortune in the way they conceded very late on against Bournemouth, following a messy scramble in the six-yard box.
Still, this slump has once again highlighted two recurring issues within the Liverpool squad. The first is wasteful finishing. Against Leeds, the Reds had 19 shots, amounting to 1.68 xG, yet failed to score. Against Burnley, they registered a whopping 32 shots, including a penalty, leading to an xG of 3.49, but only one goal to show for it. Out of all the players in the Liverpool squad, the only one to outperform their xG by more than one goal in the league is Ryan Gravenberch. As well as problems finishing, Liverpool have also been prone to conceding costly late goals.
Goals Conceded Late
Part of the problem is that Liverpool have so few defensive options and no out-and-out defensive midfielder. Trying to steady the ship late on becomes increasingly difficult under those circumstances. The situation is so bad at the moment that Gravenberch had to fill in at centre-back during Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Qarabag, against whom (to be fair) the Reds put in a very good performance, winning 6-0.
| League Opponent | Goal Conceded (Time) | Points Dropped |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal Palace | 90+7 | 1 |
| Chelsea | 90+5 | 1 |
| Man United | 84 | 1 |
| Leeds | 90+6 | 2 |
| Fulham | 90+7 | 2 |
| Bournemouth | 90+5 | 1 |
This is a lot of dropped points late on for a team of Liverpool’s quality. In fact, they have already broken their own Premier League record for most 90th-minute winners conceded.
Returning Salah Could Help
Much of Liverpool’s recent slump has occurred without Mohamed Salah, who has been away on AFCON duty. The Egyptian’s return looked unlikely to provide much of a boost, though. In his first league game back, he completed zero successful dribbles (two attempts), delivered just one accurate cross (eight attempts), and won none of his six ground duels.
He performed much better against Qarabag in the Champions League, however, scoring for the first time since November with a brilliant free kick. He looked lively and appeared to have a positive mindset. If he can rediscover some of the form that made him a Liverpool legend, the Reds could still make it to a top-five finish.