Liverpool head coach Arne Slot spoke of feeling “excited” as Liverpool enter a crucial spell, with an FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City and a Champions League last-eight tie against Paris Saint-Germain set to shape both the season’s trophy chances and the club’s push to return to UEFA’s top competition next year.

The fixtures arrive with Liverpool sitting fifth in the Premier League after losing to Brighton, so progress in both cups and securing a Champions League place remain central aims. Slot accepted the challenge of facing elite opposition but stressed that Liverpool can match top sides when performing at their best across these demanding weeks.

Liverpool resume after the international break with Saturday’s trip to Etihad Stadium to meet Manchester City in the FA Cup. City come into the tie boosted by lifting the EFL Cup against Arsenal, underlining the level Liverpool must match in a knockout game that also feeds into momentum for the upcoming Champions League quarter-final.

The meeting continues a long FA Cup history between the clubs. This will be the seventh tie in the competition. Manchester City advanced from the first two, after replays in 1955-56 and 1972-73. Liverpool then won the next four, including the 2021-22 semi-final on the way to lifting their most recent FA Cup trophy.

Recent FA Cup data further highlights Liverpool’s pedigree. The club have progressed from 17 of the last 19 quarter-final ties. One of the two failures came most recently, when Manchester United won 4-3 in the 2023-24 quarter-final. That defeat adds extra context to the importance of responding strongly against Manchester City this time.

Slot underlined how much the away support could influence the Manchester City tie, explaining that FA Cup allocations offer Liverpool more travelling fans than usual league games. Slot said: “First of all, I’m looking forward to the fact that in the away game it’s always nice because our fans are always loud, but as has been told to me in the FA Cup, we get even more fans to help us over there, Slot added. So, that’s going to be something to look forward to.”

Liverpool FA Cup Champions League Manchester City pressure

Slot admitted that Liverpool’s form has been inconsistent, pointing to the impact of absences. Slot said: “Our players, unfortunately, most of us had good results, the results afterwards when they weren’t as we wanted them to be. That had a lot to do with players not being available then, which we saw in the last game when we played Brighton.”

Even with that concern, Slot emphasised Liverpool’s high level at their best. Slot said: “We’ve shown so many times this season that we can be a very good team. Unfortunately, we’ve also shown this season a few times that we look vulnerable, and we have to get the best out of ourselves as we’ve had many times this season. But that’s what we definitely need again in the upcoming weeks to do what we want to do and that is to continue our run in both cups and qualify for the Champions League next season.”

Liverpool FA Cup Champions League Manchester City performances

Slot highlighted the recent win over Galatasaray as a standard Liverpool must hit again. Slot said: “So, during the week, we played a very good game, in my opinion, one of our best against Galatasaray.I hope and expect we can be the team that we were against Galatasaray. That’s also what we need to be, because City have shown one day after we played Brighton, when they won the League Cup, how good of a team they are, how many good players they have and how good a manager they have. It’s a very nice game to look forward to.”

Looking at the wider schedule, Liverpool also confront Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals, with the two European legs split by a Premier League game against Fulham at Anfield on 11 April. The sequence leaves little margin for error in terms of rotation, fitness and sustaining performance across competitions.

Slot reflected on Liverpool’s recent meetings with Paris Saint-Germain. Slot said: “As we know, we played Paris Saint-Germain last season in the Round of 16, now in the quarter-finals and both of these games were a joy to watch. I watched them backboth of themI liked the one at Anfield a little bit more than the one in Paris, although we won in Paris and lost at Anfield. But [we’re] really looking forward to it.”

When Slot was asked about personal emotions ahead of such a run, the answer was clear. Slot said: “[I am] excited. This is what we worked for throughout the season, to be involved in games like that. Of course, we probably played the toughest opponents you can face as well in the FA Cup as in the Champions League, but you always know if you end up in the quarter-finals that these are teams you can face. It’s exciting for us. I think it’s also challenging for them to play Liverpool.”

Across domestic and European fronts, Liverpool now face a phase that will define the campaign’s success. With Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and key league fixtures ahead, Slot’s side must combine the level shown against Galatasaray with improved availability, using strong travelling support and recent cup history to target progress and Champions League qualification.