Liverpool Guard of Honour: Will Arsenal and Chelsea line up to show respect to champions?

Liverpool are expected to win the Premier League in the next week, which means a handful of teams will face having to give Arne Slot's side a Guard of Honour before the season is out. The Reds are 13 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table but the Gunners beating Ipswich 4-0 on Sunday delayed their coronation for now.

Slot's men will become champions if Arsenal lose to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night and if Arteta's side beat the Eagles then the next available chance will be on Sunday if they can defeat Tottenham Hotspur.

It seems only a matter of time before Liverpool are crowned champions and therefore attentions are turning towards trophy parades, celebrations and which teams might give them a Guard of Honour from now until the end of the season.

After playing Spurs at Anfield this weekend, Liverpool will have four matches left to play, with all eyes on whether the Guard of Honour tradition will be upheld.

Mirror Football breaks down the long-held footballing tradition for Premier League champions, when it has been previously observed and which teams could be forced to show respect to Liverpool this season.

The Premier League champions have historically been honoured by a team they face in the top flight after it has been confirmed they have won that season's league title.

The tradition involved the opposing team lining up in two lines as the title-winning side emerge from the tunnel, applauding them as they walk through. It is seen as a mark of respect for the best team in the league that season - but it is not a compulsory gesture in the Premier League.

There is no mention about any Guard of Honour traditions in the Premier League regulations but if it does go ahead, the two clubs will have agreed on it before the game takes place.

Some players will be reluctant to give a round of applause for a team that is considered their rivals, but no top flight star can be forced to give the gesture by football chiefs.

It is believed the Guard of Honour stretches back to 1955 when Chelsea won the league and Manchester United showed respect to Chelsea by clapping them.

The Red Devils continued that tradition by applauding Arsenal's 1991 Premier League title win at Highbury - which may have been encouraged by the fact they prevented Liverpool from winning it.

United's respectful behaviour has been replicated by a number of teams as Chelsea applauded Sir Alex Ferguson's men when they won the title in 2007.

Arsenal were at pains to clap Manchester United in 2012-13 after their title win, after their former player Robin van Persie - who left Arsenal for Old Trafford the previous year - being a member of the United squad.

Liverpool also gave one to Chelsea in 2015, while Leicester were in turn given one by the Blues the following year following their sensational title triumph.

There has been some controversy over Guard of Honour tributes in recent years and Liverpool will hope they don't receive a repeat of the gesture they were shown by Manchester City following their title win in 2020.

Red supporters were fuming after City's "disrespectful" Guard of Honour that saw some players stop clapping before all the Liverpool players had finished coming out of the tunnel.

Liverpool have five games left this season, including their home clash against Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham this weekend.

If Arsenal lose to Palace and Liverpool's title win is confirmed on Wednesday night, Tottenham will be the first team who could give the Reds a Guard of Honour. As a self-confessed Liverpool fan himself, Postecoglou would probably be insistent that his side show respect to Slot's men.

After that, there is the prospect that two of Liverpool's rivals could be forced to give the Guard of Honour as they prepare to face Chelsea and Arsenal.

Arsenal performing the gesture would be the most painful after Mikel Arteta's men slipped so far behind Liverpool in the table and having to give a Guard of Honour to them with three games left would be a reminder of how badly they collapsed.

The other two teams Liverpool will face to round off the season who could give the Guard of Honour are Brighton and Crystal Palace.

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