As Liverpool prepare to bring the curtain down on a wonderful season, there’s much to look out for ahead of the clash with Crystal Palace.
The Reds host the new FA Cup winners on Sunday afternoon ahead of what promises to be an afternoon full of positivity and emotion.
Here are six things you need to keep an eye out for at Anfield.
Trent’s Liverpool goodbye
It wasn’t meant to end this way for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The 26-year-old will play his final game for Liverpool, almost certainly starting as a substitute.
It remains to be seen if Arne Slot will bring him on, but it will be a strange occasion for him either way.
The brutal truth is that he won’t receive too much love from his own fans, who will instead want to applaud those who are staying at Liverpool.
Still, this has been Alexander-Arnold’s boyhood club for 20 years, so will say that he deserves to be acknowledged for the great service he has given.
This Is Anfield understands there are no plans for a presentation to Trent, with that being done at the AXA Training Centre on Saturday instead.
Final game for other Reds?
While much attention will be on Alexander-Arnold, there are a host of other Liverpool players who could depart after the Palace match.
The popular Darwin Nunez stands out, having not done enough to impress Slot, but he has always had the support of the home faithful.
Meanwhile, Caoimhin Kelleher will surely leave Liverpool to be a regular elsewhere, so it would be nice to see the Irishman given some minutes.
Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Harvey Elliott are others who have doubts surrounding their futures, ahead of a big summer of change at Anfield.
A first-ever goal for Gomez?
Speaking of Gomez, he has still never scored a goal in his senior career – imagine if he netted on his potential Liverpool farewell.
With Mohamed Salah chasing records – more on that later – would he allow Gomez to take a penalty if the Reds got one?
It’s also easy to forget that Tsimikas has also never scored for Liverpool – he has eight in his club career – so he could also be battling to take a spot-kick.
It’s Gomez who it would feel extra-special for, though, regardless of his future.
Klopp back at Anfield
Jurgen Klopp was on top form on Friday evening, taking part in a Q&A at the LFC Foundation Gala Ball, and he will be at Anfield on Sunday.
The German is sure to be given a special reception, having shot down rumours of a return to management:
“I don’t miss the job, to be 100 percent honest.“Whatever you read in the newspapers for the next, at least, two to three years if there’s any football link to a coaching job you can be the first to say, ‘That’s bulls***! I’m not going to Rome. I got messages in the morning, ‘Rome is a nice city’, and I thought, ‘Yeah? But I heard that before’.”
Klopp hasn’t been back at Anfield since leaving last May, but so much of this season has been thanks to what he left behind.
He won’t want any of Sunday to be about him, but the title win would not have been possible without the foundations he built.
Salah chasing several records
Salah’s form has dipped after a stunning season that has seen him named Footballer of the Year, but he will be as hungry as anyone on Sunday.
The Liverpool legend needs two more goals to go level with Andy Cole on 187 in the Premier League – currently the fourth-most in the competition’s history.
Salah also needs a couple of assists to match Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s record of 20 in a Premier League campaign.
Meanwhile, one goal or assist will see the Egyptian draw level with Cole and Alan Shearer for the most goal contributions in a season, with the pair bagging 47 apiece.
How many of the records will Salah match or break against Palace?
The trophy lift!
After not being able to lift the Premier League trophy in front of fans in 2020, Sunday has been 35 years in the making.
After the Palace game is done and dusted, Alan Hansen will hand the trophy to Virgil van Dijk, in a touching gesture by the club, following the Scot’s recent health issues.
These images will last a lifetime, so which Liverpool players will be doing their utmost to be front and centre?
Then it’s time for a lap of honour, as the players and fans bask in the glory of being champions.
If we thought Tottenham at home was good, Sunday will surely eclipse it! Maybe not the weather, though!
