Jurgen Klopp is about to get an £80m Liverpool weapon to ignite season-defining spell.

The decisive triumph of LASK has effectively nullified the significance of one of those games. Although securing a dead-rubber in the Champions League is always advantageous financially, the considerably

less profitable Europa League will not offer the same motivation when Union Saint-Gilloise hosts the Group E champions in Brussels later this month.In spite of the fact that that match will be the most pointless competitive encounter Liverpool has experienced in recent years, it remains a crucial opportunity to rest and rotate players in preparation for the visit of Manchester United to Anfield later that week. At the very least, that is a concealed advantage of dominating the group easily.While that match, which is the most viewed club football match globally, may be the first to catch the eye when perusing the December fixture list, West Ham also faces formidable home encounters with Arsenal and Newcastle United on New Year’s Day, as well as a Carabao Cup quarterfinal.

Liverpool will know for certain that they will be in contention for a last-16 Europa League match at the beginning of the year. However, their chances of contending for the Premier League title in the latter half of the season will also become considerably more certain, and they may even be two legs away from a visit to Wembley.Therefore, it is unmistakable why Klopp emphasized the critical nature of the upcoming weeks for the Reds. Five of the nine matches between January 1 and Sunday’s visit from Fulham will be played at Fortress Anfield, where the Reds have won every game this season and are winless in all competitions since February. Since nearly three years ago, they have suffered just one Premier League loss at this location.Liverpool have been defeated in the league for a mere eleven times in the eight years under Klopp’s leadership (with six of those defeats occurring consecutively behind closed doors in early 2021). Few strongholds in world football match Anfield, and while the atmosphere may fail to impress outsiders on frigid winter nights against Europa League underachievers, a white-hot cacophony is certain to greet United, Arsenal, and Newcastle in the coming weeks, especially considering the circumstances.The significance of those additional 7000 seats in relation to the outcome on the field will only become clear on game day, but the fact that Liverpool has such crucial home games approaching at this time of year augurs well for the club. It remains the possibility that it could make every difference.

However, despite the justifiable praise that Klopp’s squad has received since the beginning of the year, they must maintain their outstanding start throughout a season-defining December if they are to once again be acknowledged as genuine contenders for the major rewards.