Liverpool predictor estimates how many points will secure Champions League

Liverpool has narrowed the gap to Manchester United and Chelsea after beating Sunderland, with the race for the Champions League set to heat up with 12 games remaining

Liverpool boosted its Champions League hopes with victory over Sunderland(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool gave its Champions League hopes a much-needed boost after becoming the first away team to win at Sunderland.

Having fallen to defeat against Manchester City just a few days earlier, Arne Slot’s side needed to bounce back, especially after Manchester United and Chelsea opened the door by dropping points against West Ham and Leeds respectively.

A hard-fought performance saw Virgil van Dijk score the only goal at the Stadium of Light, and although it came at the cost of yet another injury, the win could proved crucial in the Reds’ attempts to overhaul their rivals, and secure a place at Europe’s top table for next season.

Liverpool remains sixth in the Premier League, but now sits two and three points behind Chelsea and United respectively with 12 games remaining in the campaign.

That still leaves plenty of time for the Reds to make up ground, and with games against their two main rivals still to play before the end of the season, they will definitely get the chance to overhaul them.

Liverpool is further helped by the Premier League once again being likely to receive an extra Champions League berth, meaning fifth place could be enough to qualify for the competition, and it has been given a guide of just how many points it might need to secure that.

Arne Slot's side will need to overhaul Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for the Champions League(Image: Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Opta Analyst’s predicted table actually has the Reds finishing fourth at the end of the season, although there is very little to separate them from Chelsea and United.

Liverpool’s expected points comes out at 62.79, while Chelsea finishes on 62.67 and United on 62.48, underlining just how tight the race for the top five could be.

That does suggest though that around 63 points would be enough to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League, with Liverpool currently 21 points off that total. That is lower than what was needed for Newcastle to finish fifth last season, with the Magpies having just beaten Aston Villa to the last Champions League spot on 66 points.

Elsewhere, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Arsenal is predicted to go on to win the title ahead of Manchester City, with Aston Villa finishing third. At the other end of the table, it’s Wolves, Burnley and West Ham that are predicted to be relegated, with Nottingham Forest surviving in 17th despite having just fired Sean Dyche as manager.

Liverpool.com says: There are some fairly obvious caveats that need to be applied here, not least the fact that 63 does feel a little low given United is only six wins away from that total already.

Secondly, Liverpool needs to drastically improve its goal difference - the Reds are four goals behind United and 11 behind Chelsea, so if it is going to be as tight as Opta suggests, they’re at a major disadvantage.

Slot and his players certainly shouldn’t be looking at that and thinking 63 points will be all they need. As the Reds’ head coach has already said, they need to be near-perfect from here on out.