Liverpool’s ‘reward’ for being knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth Argyle on Sunday was the promise of two free weekends in March. While the League Cup final and Champions League round-of-16 await the Reds next month, their Premier League title-charge will be largely put on hiatus.

Southampton’s visit to Anfield on March 8 will be Liverpool’s only English top-flight match next month, with the Reds then having to wait 25 days for their next Premier League outing.

But before the famine, comes the feast. Wednesday’s trip to Everton is the first of five Premier League outings in just 15 days, as Liverpool also host Wolverhampton Wanderers, travel to Aston Villa and Man City and then welcome Newcastle United to Anfield.

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For those of us in the media industry, such runs are when titles are won and lost. But Arne Slot has no time for such hyperbole.

“No, because this period five games in 15 days is what we have done for seven months now," he replied when quizzed whether those five fixtures could define his side’s season. “Every phase of the season is crucial if you play Premier League.

“This is the hardest league to win because there are so many teams that can win this league and there are so many teams who are able to win 10, 15 games in a row so you cannot slow down or cannot have a few games that you are not on top of your game because all of a sudden a lot of teams catch you up.

“That is why the Premier League is such an exciting league and beautiful league to work in and why the whole world is looking at us.”

It has been 66 days since Liverpool were originally scheduled to travel to Everton. Meaning, for over two months they have enjoyed the prospect of a game-in-hand.

Come 10pm on Wednesday, second-placed Arsenal will know the true deficit they have to overcome if they are to overhaul the Reds and be crowned Premier League champions for the first time since 2004.

The Gunners went invincible 21 years ago, of course. But with Liverpool currently six points clear, while still possessing this long-held game-in-hand for now, an unbeaten second half of the season still might not be enough for Mikel Arteta’s side.

While Slot warned how his side’s rivals are capable of going on lengthy unbeaten runs, he also offered a reminder of how Arsenal still fell short in the past.

“Last season Arsenal, after they went to Qatar, they won the first eight games and only lost two of the last 17 but still City were able to win the league because they were able to win every single game.

“That is the league we are in. The upcoming five are important but after that the nine after that are important but the first 23 we played have been just as important.”

While talk of a possible quadruple had very much been premature and not yet uttered at the AXA Training Centre, Liverpool’s cup loss to Plymouth ended any possible discussions before they could even really begin.

Slot named a much-changed side at Home Park and will restore the cavalry against Everton. He will expect to see a performance much more befitting of his Liverpool players at Goodison Park - even considering how the form guide is very much thrown from the window before the Merseyside derby.

After an ‘unacceptable’ loss at Plymouth, the Dutchman expects to see a response as his side now pursue three trophies instead of four.

“It should have an impact because if you are working at a club like this you should compete for every trophy,” he said. “We've said this from the start, and so to go out at the second occasion, to lose against Plymouth is not acceptable.

“Us as a team, and I think our fans are disappointed, by that result. Now we have to show a different side of us tomorrow because it wasn’t only the result but the performance was far from what Liverpool's standards are as well.”

Liverpool have faced intimidating runs in their fixtures list before, only to come through relatively unscathed time and time again. Slot will hope Wednesday night can signal the start of another similar chapter in the Reds’ season.

This run of games might not define Liverpool’s campaign, should they immediately rediscover their previous standards. But that does not mean they can’t deal Arsenal another significant blow, before taking a step-in back in March ahead of a very much decisive run-in. And that is something not even Slot can deny.