Liverpool can afford to rest their regulars for their final league-phase game in the Champions League with head coach Arne Slot not overly concerned about topping the standings. 

Captain Virgil van Dijk, top scorer Mohamed Salah and goalkeeper Alisson have all been left out of the matchday squad for Wednesday's game at PSV, as have Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz.

Liverpool, who are already guaranteed a place in the Champions League's last 16, also lead the Premier League and are still in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, so they have plenty of big matches to come this season.

"I think we are playing, like all the teams in Europe, many, many, many games and these players have already, so all the ones that are left behind could have played tomorrow," Slot told reporters.

"If you look back at our season, it's been almost every time after three or four or five weeks, we gave them a break during the week when it was the League Cup or the FA Cup.

"If there was a moment for them to get some freshness back, we've always done that."

The stage for tomorrow's #UCL action  pic.twitter.com/bEGbb5dyuH

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 28, 2025

While Liverpool have won all seven games in Europe, they could still be overtaken at the top by Barcelona if they lose at PSV, but sewing up top spot is not Slot's priority.

Liverpool cannot slip out of the top two and, when it comes to the last-16 draw, finishing first or second will make no difference to the identity of their next opponents.

"It took me a while to understand this new format, but I always say when I think I'm 100% sure I used 99.9%, but now I can say I'm 100% sure that it doesn't matter at all if we end up first or second," Slot said.

"Because we will play a side between 15th and 18th place, and then in the end it's a draw which of the teams we are going to face.

"So this is a game for us, because we are now number one, or two, we cannot drop to number three.

"But a very wise man once said to me, I've never seen anything good coming from losing a football game, so we are not going into the game tomorrow trying to lose the game, we will do everything we can trying to win it of course."

PSV are 19th on 11 points, and avoiding defeat to Liverpool would guarantee their place in the playoffs.