The third and final mid-season international break has now concluded and Liverpool supporters will be eagerly anticipating their return to Premier League action this week.

Liverpool have not featured in a Premier League match since March 8th, a 3-1 victory over Southampton, but have since suffered European and domestic cup defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United.

Arne Slot’s side know the task at hand and that sixteen more points from a possible twenty-seven will secure the Premier League title in the Dutchman’s debut season, a second in six years and an all-time twentieth to equal arch-rivals Manchester United.

Everton are the visitors to Anfield on Wednesday night which will see the second and final Merseyside Derby of this campaign play out, and the Toffees will be making their final trip ‘across the park’ from Goodison, before the move to their new stadium on Bramley Moor Dock from next season.

‘It depends on…’ – James Pearce cites one factor which could make or break Liverpool move for Isak	Liverpool vs Everton: Reds players returned ‘refreshed’ from break, says Slot	How a ‘special’ Liverpool player helped Steven Gerrard break a 30-year Merseyside derby record

Ahead of the Reds’ return to action, we will be taking a deeper dive into how they can return from the international break with fire in their bellies, heading into a crucial stage of the campaign.

A POINT TO PROVE

Liverpool and Arne Slot have suddenly became victims of their own success and will be eager to put things right when they return.

A truly fantastic season so far has become somewhat overshadowed by recent performances that led to their UEFA Champions League exit and falling short in the Carabao Cup Final, prompting unfair scrutiny.

The Reds sit twelve points clear at the Premier League summit, but the blip has saw a pile-on of criticism from supporters and pundits, without any real perspective on the situation.

Prior to Liverpool’s second-leg against PSG, they had played seven matches including five in fifteen days, amounting to a total of five-hundred-and-sixty minutes of football in less than one month.

The Champions League tie also heading to extra-time and penalties probably didn’t do the Reds any favours, leading to fatigue in the cup final, just five days later.

The Reds’ looked out on their feet as they were dominated by Newcastle at Wembley.

A slight dip of tempo and form was bound to happen as rarely ever is a league-title winning team, perfect throughout a full season.

But, Liverpool will be relishing the opportunity to silence the critics and gain some momentum during the run-in as they hope to secure the Premier League title in style.

EXTRA REST FOR KEY PLAYERS

As many as twenty first-team players jetted off to feature for their respective countries, but two players had to withdraw mid-camp.

Ryan Gravenberch became the first to leave his Netherlands camp due to a suspected knock that he continued to carry from Liverpool’s defeat to Newcastle.

Alisson Becker departed from Brazil after suffering concussion during their match with Colombia, leading to an early flight back to Liverpool under the concussion protocol.

There were also reports that Ibrahima Konaté was substituted during France’s 2-0 Nations League defeat to Croatia through an apparent injury, but manager Didier Deschamps later confirmed the decision was purely for tactical reasons.

There were no signs of  any serious issues for the trio, with the national teams exits all seen as precautionary and a chance to rest up.

Alisson, Gravenberch and Konaté are all expected to be fit and available for Liverpool’s Merseyside Derby meeting with Everton this Wednesday.

The Reds also received further boost as many first-team players were rewarded with up to ten days rest and recovery time, due to their international camps concluding early, as well as limited minutes.

These include Andy Robertson, Diogo Jota, Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo.

THERE’S A LEAGUE TITLE TO BE WON

The business end of the Premier League season has now arrived, meaning every match will now have an extra feel of importance.

For Liverpool, it’s the opportunity to win their first league title in-front of supporters for thirty-five years, after the COVID-19 disruptions in 2020.

Murmurs of the dream becoming reality have been circulating for almost two months now and began following the Reds’ convincing 2-0 away victory over Manchester City, with chants of ‘now you’re gonna believe us’ arriving from the away end.

Nine games and five wins are the only things separating Liverpool from Premier League title right now and for Arne Slot’s side, they will hope to have it wrapped it sooner, if Arsenal are to drop further points in the remaining games.

The international break arrived at the perfect time for Arne Slot’s men.

It has been used as an opportunity to rest and recuperate before getting back to business.

Just Everton, Fulham, West Ham, Leicester and Tottenham stand in the way of the Reds bringing number twenty back to Anfield.

It’s almost time to hand it over, Manchester.

Want to get the latest Liverpool news direct to your phone?
For more news relating to Manchester City, visit our sister site City Latest Live.