Liverpool's 6 Biggest Games Between Now and Year-End

Liverpool have improved their form of late with a run of four matches unbeaten, the latest of which was the 2-2 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby.

That mini-run has seen the Reds rise from 18th place following the home defeat to Manchester United to 12th place after taking eight points from the last 12 available.

The Reds are part-way through a run of matches which sees them play six out of seven consecutive matches at home, a run which Brendan Rodgers and his team hope will shape how the Reds fare in three different competitions.

Much has been made of the Reds' thin-looking squad, but Liverpool still have another 15 games at least to get through before they reach the possible sanctuary of the January transfer window—15 games which could show just how much in the right direction the team is headed.

Or, of course, 15 games which could see the club sink to greater depths than even the last three relatively poor seasons have seen.

Here are the six most important games Liverpool have between now and the new year.

Swansea City Away, October 31, League Cup

Next up for Liverpool is the first of the important matches they face in the League Cup fourth round tie against Swansea City.

Brendan Rodgers will be leading his new side against his old team for the first time since making the switch in the summer—with midfielder Joe Allen another who could be in line for the same reintroduction with former colleagues.

Liverpool don't have a chance of winning the Premier League this season; that much is of course evident.

But the League Cup—a trophy they are defending this season after beating Cardiff City in last year's final—is a competition which the Reds genuinely have a chance of winning again, and Rodgers would be wise to field as good a side as possible to keep his team in the running.

Swansea at Anfield is a game that Liverpool should be confident about getting a good result in, though the Reds would do well to remember last season's double header against the Swans—Liverpool drew, lost and failed to score a single goal.

Chelsea Away, November 11, Premier League

Back to the league fixtures, as Liverpool have already played many of the biggest and most difficult opponents the Premiership has to offer.

The Reds played both Manchester City and United as well as Arsenal within the opening few weeks of the campaign—and now European champions Chelsea are less than two short weeks away.

Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge after a Europa League match in Russia, which presumably not too many first team players will feature in.

Chelsea are flying at the moment, top of the league despite their weekend 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, their first loss of the season.

The odds won't be in Liverpool's favour for the fixture, with Chelsea having spent heavily in the summer, especially in the attacking third. But similarly, Liverpool have been able to enjoy some success over the Blues in recent seasons, winning three times against the North London club last season.

Of course, Chelsea won the FA Cup final at the end of last season to deny Liverpool a trophy double.

How Liverpool perform against Chelsea, possibly regardless of the result, might give a good indication of where the Reds are at the moment and how high—or otherwise—they could aim this season.

Tottenham Hotspur Away, November 28, Premier League

Shortly after the Chelsea match, Liverpool face another tough test in London, as they travel to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of November.

As far as Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers and the whole rebuilding process goes, Spurs are both the benchmark and the direct opposition for the Reds.

Both teams changed their manager in the summer, both have brought in head coaches with long term visions and both will, and have already, been backed in the transfer market to some extent.

Spurs of course had a better starting point than Liverpool, finishing fourth in last season's Premier League and generally having a squad with more quality players in it at the start of the summer—but the Reds need to match Andre Villas-Boas' side as much as possible this season.

Tottenham are the side Liverpool need to be matching themselves against.

The match at White Hart Lane in November will give both teams a good indication of how they are getting on under new management.

Udinese Away, December 6, Europa League

As well as the League Cup, Liverpool have given themselves a good chance of progressing in the Europa League.

A win over Anzhi Makhachkala has put the Reds top of the group, halfway through the fixtures.

The Reds face a tough trip to Russia next and then a home fixture against Swiss side Young Boys, from whom Liverpool should be hopeful of taking three points.

The final group stage game is away in Italy against Udinese, which could potentially be a winner-takes-all clash to see who takes one of the qualification places into the knock-out stage.

Much of the game in terms of team selection, ambition and pressure could be decided based on how the previous two games go, but the group is likely to go to the final match before the qualifiers are decided.

Aston Villa Home, December 15, Premier League

The final two games that have considerable importance for Liverpool come as a pair, one after the other.

November throws up some very tricky fixtures for the Reds, but in all honesty, December has to be a month where—regardless of performances—Liverpool start picking up a serious amount of points.

Liverpool have six league games during the month, and all of them are winnable in their own right, though of course some have difficulties attached to them too, such as the trip to Stoke City.

Before that though, Liverpool have back-to-back home matches before Christmas, and the first is against Aston VIlla.

Villa have a new manager of their own this season in Paul Lambert, but the squad is a mess, low on confidence, short on points and in desperate need of a total re-vamp.

Things might have changed on the pitch somewhat by the time December rolls around, but this is absolutely a game from which Liverpool must look to take three points.

Fulham, December 22, Premier League

One week later in the final match before Christmas, Liverpool host Fulham at Anfield.

These two league games could, or even should, see the Reds pick up six points in quick succession.

With so many games during the month it could be a few weeks where Liverpool really make up ground on the teams above them and push for a top six spot, giving more encouraging signs to any potential targets in the January transfer window that the club might target.

Fulham have put a very decent squad together and will present a tough test in this particular fixture, but again, at home, it is one that Liverpool should be looking to win.

With no game currently scheduled for the week beforehand following the Villa match, both preparation and rest time will be in good supply, and the Reds should have no thought other than taking maximum points from this series of games.

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