Hours before the Liverpool team landed at Girona-Costa Brava airport on Monday afternoon, locals were already lining the temporary barriers placed inside the terminal. Clearly, the Reds remain a major draw in Europe.

But as Arne Slot held court during the pre-match press conference deep inside the bowels of Girona's Estadi Montilivi, there was still significant interest on matters back home in the Premier League.

On a weekend in which Storm Darragh put a temporary hold on Liverpool's final Goodison derby against Everton, title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City both dropped points to leave Chelsea, 4-3 winners at Tottenham Hotspur, the nearest challengers to the Reds' lead, now four points adrift albeit having played a game more.

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And the new-look Champions League could yet have an impact on the title race. A victory against La Liga side Girona on Tuesday evening would guarantee a place in the top eight for Liverpool and avoid the need for a two-legged play-off in February.

Given the hectic schedule in the opening months of the New Year, two free midweeks would offer a much-needed chance for a breather that may not be afforded to Arsenal and City, who still more work to do to seal a top-eight berth.

"If we end up in the top eight I assume these clubs you are mentioning end up in the top eight as well," says Slot. "Arsenal I think 95% sure, City have to do a bit more maybe but they are able to win three games in a row as well, then they will be in the top eight.

"You never know if it will be an advantage. Since now we have been able to play every three days so maybe we should implement some friendly games if we finish top eight - that is a joke!

"It hasn't been bad for us that we've played so many games. But we are pushing really hard to end up top eight to have the best possible seeding but definitely also to skip that round."

In terms of the Champions League, though, Slot admits the great unknowns about the new format mean it is impossible to gauge just how much of an advantage finishing in the top eight will provide later on in the tournament.

"It is so difficult to say anything about this, at the end of the season you can judge it in the best possible way," he says. "It is helpful to finish top eight, is it helpful to end up number one?

"If in the end by playing your starters always and skipping the round and still having a very difficult draw then maybe we are going to think about differently next season what we are going to do in the group stage. First of all we want to stay in the top eight and we need a win."

And while Slot believes the decision to postpone the derby on Saturday was the correct one, he accepts it will prove of benefit to Liverpool in the short term.

"For sure, if we would have played that game then maybe we would have played the same team as we will tomorrow but you never know what that game, who people said would be quite intense, would have led to," he says,

"I think it was a very good decision to cancel the game for the safety of all the people. If you play such a special game, the last derby at Goodison Park, it needs to be in my opinion in good circumstances.

"That is the good end result is that we can now play this game in good circumstances, it was a very good choice coming from a safety point not to play that game."