Arne Slot expects Liverpool’s Premier League displays to stabilise after the club’s Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain. Liverpool have collected only seven points from the last five league fixtures, yet the win against Fulham last weekend offered some encouragement before the Merseyside derby against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.

Slot accepts leaving UEFA’s main tournament at the quarter-final stage hurts, but also sees a possible advantage. With no European schedule, Liverpool now have fewer midweek matches. Slot believes the reduced load may refresh important players and help prevent the late lapses that have affected recent domestic performances.

Among Premier League players, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szobozslai rank among the busiest this season. Van Dijk has played 4,401 minutes in all competitions, while Szobozslai has accumulated 4,196. Only Chelsea, with four players, have more footballers in the top 15 for minutes than Liverpool, who have three.

Discussing the data, Slot highlighted how often the same names appear on his team sheet. Slot said: “If you look at the 15, 20, 25 players with the most minutes this season, a lot of them are from us,” and added that this helps explain inconsistency, plus the number of late goals conceded.

Slot admitted the situation is mixed for Liverpool. “Maybe from that perspective, it is a good thing we are not in Europe any more, but I would definitely prefer to play in Europe because that also gives an energy to the group if you go to the semifinal of the Champions League.”

Focus now shifts fully to the Premier League and Sunday’s trip to Hill Dickinson Stadium. Liverpool have visited 61 different grounds in the competition and have claimed victories at 59 of them. Another win against Everton would make Liverpool the first club to record league wins at 60 distinct Premier League stadia.

Recent derby results favour Liverpool, although they have come at Anfield. Liverpool won the last two Premier League clashes with Everton, both on home soil. The club last produced three straight league wins over Everton between April 2016 and April 2017, a run Slot’s squad will try to match on Sunday.

Slot also underlined the benefit of extra preparation time now available. “I don’t see it as a positive thing we are out but it is the reality and we have a bit more training time now.” Liverpool will use that period to manage workloads carefully and target improved league consistency.