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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Here's a quick question for you.

Who is the only Liverpool player to have featured in every matchday squad so far this season?

So close if you said Cody Gakpo or Luis Diaz, who have both been at least on the bench in 33 out of 34 games during the campaign.



Despite making just eight starts and four substitute appearances this term - totalling 707 minutes in the process - the centre-back has been available and included in every squad since Arne Slot took over as head coach last summer.

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Indeed, factor in his breakthrough campaign, the last time Quansah wasn't involved on a matchday was way back in October 2023 and the Premier League home win over Nottingham Forest.

The 21-year-old will be expecting more game time over the next few weeks, with Liverpool effectively playing a dead rubber at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday, with the League Cup semi-final second leg at home to Tottenham Hotspur and the FA Cup fourth round tie at Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle also on the horizon.

The Reds are already guaranteed a top-two finish in the new-look Champions League opening stage after last week's 2-1 home triumph against Lille ensured their 100% start was extended to seven games.

And while each league phase win is worth around £1.75million in prize money - a draw brings in just under £600,000 - there is little difference in terms of impact on the draw for the last 16 and prospective route through the knockout stages.

Liverpool already know their last 16 opponents will be a team that finishes between 15th and 18th in the table, and they cannot face the other team that finishes in the top two - presently set to be Barcelona - until the final.

Slot, then, is likely to view the game against PSV - his first return to Holland as boss since leaving Feyenoord for Anfield - as an opportunity to continue the rotation that has become an increasing feature during the last six weeks with Liverpool competing on four fronts.

And managing minutes at this stage of the season will prove beneficial during the closing months of the campaign when the intensity and pressure is ramped up and, as Liverpool discovered last year, any drop in level can prove costly.

There's little surprise to discover Virgil van Dijk (2,700 minutes), Mohamed Salah (2,690) and Ryan Gravenberch (2,574) lead the way in all competitions for the Reds, with Alexis Mac Allister (2,272) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (2,221) the other Liverpool players to have totalled more than 2,000 minutes so far this campaign.

Those five have also featured the most in the Premier League for the Reds.

How, though, does that compare to their main title rivals?

Arsenal have relied on a greater core of players with eight breaking the 2,000-minute barrier in all competitions this season, while Manchester City have a whopping 17 players with 1,000+ minutes in all competitions - Liverpool's tally is 14 - which is the same as Chelsea given the Londoners have been selecting a shadow team for their Conference League campaign in Europe.

Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, neither of which are in Europe, are able to manage the workload on their players more easily as a consequence.

In just the Premier League, the spread is even between the main four contenders, with both Liverpool and Arsenal having 11 players who have featured for at least 1,000 minutes while City and Chelsea have 12.

The Reds' game in hand at Everton next month won't alter that fact.

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Of course, it is worth remembering Arsenal, with 35 games, have played one more than each of Liverpool, City and Chelsea so far this term.

And with all the major contenders so evenly matched regards reliance on players, the ability to rotate and refresh resources as the season heads towards the decisive final third will be a contributory factor over the destination of the major silverware.
For more news relating to Everton, visit our sister site EFC Live.