Arne Slot is set to be on the touchline again on Wednesday as Liverpool continues its charge for the Premier League title at Aston Villa.
The Reds head to Villa Park as they begin another crucial week in their quest to be crowned champions. They sit seven points ahead of Arsenal ahead of kickoff and will have the chance to go 10 points clear and pile more pressure on Mikel Arteta and his men.
To help matters, it looks as though Slot will once again be able to lead his side from the touchline, despite still having a charge from The FA hanging over his head. The Liverpool boss was shown a red card after confronting referee Michael Oliver following a dramatic end to proceedings in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park last week.
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Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure were also sent off after clashing with each other, as was Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff. But while Jones has now served his one-match suspension and is back available for Wednesday's game, Slot and Hulshoff are still waiting to hear whether they will face further punishments. The pair, along with both Liverpool and Everton, were charged by the FA last week.
A statement from the FA said: "The Liverpool manager allegedly acted in an improper manner and/or used insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards both the match referee and an assistant referee after the match had finished."
The deadline for Slot, Hulshoff and Liverpool to respond to the charges is Wednesday, meaning any possible punishments could be handed down this week. It is unlikely any decision will be made before kickoff at Villa Park though, meaning Slot and Hulshoff should be able to take their usual places in the dugout.
What’s more, if the process continues into the weekend, it’s possible that Slot could also be on the touchline for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City. Having already served a one-game ban this season for accumulating three yellow cards, there is a chance that, if the Dutchman is punished, he could miss multiple games during Liverpool’s title race.
Reflecting on his red card at Everton, Slot told " target="_blank" class="link"> Sky Sports: “I ask all my players to be calm in their head, and I think they were that constantly. I couldn’t have asked more from them because it was a very difficult game for them to play as well.
“But they handled that really well, and if I could do this one more time, of course it’s not smart because I didn’t help anyone with that. But like I said, emotions took over after these seven or eight minutes - those seven or eight minutes will never be the same again in terms of all the games I’m going to play as a manager.
“But still, if it happens next time, I should act differently, that’s completely clear. If I could do it one more time, I just had to go in and calm down and maybe talk to the referee afterwards, but it’s easier said than done.”
