Why Liverpool could go into Premier League Top 3 with Monday Night Football

The Premier League table always has that slightly unfinished feel to it when you start the working week but ‘matchday’ hasn’t been completed. As it stands, Liverpool have already played 34 games and sit in fourth place, in between bitter rivals Manchester United and Aston Villa. All three are on 58 points but the Red Devils have one thing in their favor: they’ve only played 33 matches.

That imbalance will disappear on Monday when United host Brentford. Once that game is done, the table finally settles into a like-for-like comparison, and Liverpool’s position, just like the other two, becomes much clearer.

A win for the Old Trafford faithful and they move onto 61 points, maintaining control of third place outright and giving them some nice breathing room ahead of their next ‘massive’ game (more on that in moment). A tie, with or without goals, keeps things tighter but again would give United the edge, adding one point to the total with just four remaining fixtures.

What happens if Man Utd lose?

The most interesting outcome, though, and certainly one Reds and Villians will be hoping for, is a United defeat. They would then remain on 58 points, creating a true three-way tie. And this is when the focus shifts directly to goal difference and goals scored, the next two criteria to decide the positions of teams on the same points.

The two most successful clubs in England are currently level on +13 goal difference (Villa on +5), so even a single-goal loss for Michael Carrick’s men would bump Arne Slot ahead and into third place without them having even kicked a ball. A heavier defeat would, of course, only strengthen that position.

Who next for Manchester United?

As we’ve seen above, depending on how it unfolds at Old Trafford, Liverpool could find themselves no longer looking up at third place, but sitting in it. And that matters as the next game for these two giants is against each other. The timing could hardly be better. No matter the scoreline against Brentford, there can still only be a maximum of three points between them. It’s going to be intense.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.