It would be quite an unthinkable scenario for Liverpool FC to miss out on Champions League football for the next season, according to former Arsenal defender Paul Merson.
Jurgen Klopp’s men look far from guaranteeing their spot in Europe’s elite club competition next time around on the back of the Merseysiders falling short of their usual standards in the Premier League.
Liverpool FC are currently two points adrift of the top-four spot which is occupied by West Ham United and fifth-placed Chelsea are the upcoming opponents for Klopp’s side in top-flight football when the two heavyweights meet on Thursday.
As quoted by reports from the Mirror, Merson believes neither side would be in a position to come out second best in the midweek fixture before adding a bit of extra concern for the under-fire Liverpool FC, saying that the benefits of securing a spot in the Champions League were too lucrative for Klopp and Co. to miss out on.
” Liverpool and Chelsea and teams like that will be spending money on the strength of expecting that money to be coming in next season, Champions League money. That’s why it’s a big game – I don’t think either team can afford to lose it.
“I can’t explain how big it would be if Liverpool ended up not getting in the top four, it’s massive. Massive. Liverpool can’t not be in the Champions League.
“People go over the years they might not have been in every year but this Liverpool team of the last two years have been, bar the last three months, unbelievable.
“To be out of the top four would be unthinkable. Unthinkable. They would’ve budgeted everything, everything about it – season tickets, everything.
“TV money from the Champions League, prize money for getting through the groups; it pays people’s wages. They’re not bottomless pits.
“They still have to look at their books. It won’t be ‘oh, don’t worry about it’. And they need to bring in players. We’ve seen that with a few injuries they’ve become a lot less of a team.
“How are you going to get players to Liverpool now if they’re not going to be in the Champions League? They need to get in the top four, 100 per cent.”
The Anfield giants did kickstart their race for a top-four finish last time around when making the visit to Bramall Lane in what turned out to be a 2-0 victory enjoyed by them but the game against Chelsea presents a much sterner test for Jurgen Klopp and the misfiring Liverpool FC outfit.
