The Rondo, Europe edition: Is this the end for Mo Salah at Liverpool? Are Bayern real Champions League contenders? And what should Real Madrid do about Xabi Alonso?

Tom Hindle: Surely, at this point. Arne Slot put him in the squad for the Brighton game last week to avoid a PR nightmare and only brought him on due to injuries elsewhere. There will probably be a Saudi Pro League offer. It will probably be for a lot of money. Cash in, Liverpool. A fit and firing Salah makes them immensely better - that much is clear. But sometimes you've gotta let the money talk. 

Ryan Tolmich: Probably not, largely because it's in the best interest of everyone here to figure this out. For Liverpool, it's important to give Salah something of a fitting send-off, one that wouldn't burn any sort of bridge. It's also crucial to have him in the team, considering he's just six months removed from an all-time great Premier League season. For Salah, leaving Liverpool quietly and unceremoniously isn't befitting for a player with his legacy. Because of that, both sides should find a way to stick it out until summer before giving Salah a proper sendoff. 

TH: It really should be Arsenal, but Man City are starting to look scary aren't they? Manager Pep Guardiola has figured out his formula, and even without Rodri, they could still compete at a high level. They won't be the defensive juggernaut of a few years back, but there are goals throughout the team. Then again, Arsenal are the most complete team in Europe at the moment, and have ground out results week in, week out. It will be Arsenal, but it might be very, very close.

RT: If Arsenal don't do it this year, when will they do it? City are very good, but flawed. Liverpool have fallen apart. Chelsea have had growing pains, while Tottenham and Manchester United are nowhere near it. That leaves Arsenal by default, in reality, even if they are a great but probably not elite team. Again, this is a good a chance as any for them to change that perception and claim a long-awaited Premier League crown.

TH: Alonso is an excellent young coach who was handed an imbalanced squad. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean he was the right appointment. Alonso is a tactician and an ideologue. Madrid tend to need a vibes guy. The question is: is Alonso good enough of a coach so that the teething issues can be overlooked? Who knows. He always seems to be one loss away from the sack, which really isn't fair. In an ideal world, he gets three full years. In the world of Madrid, he could be out any week. Conclusion: he gets sacked in the summer. Football isn't fair. 

RT: Stop. When you hire a young coach, you understand that there will be certain growing pains, particularly early. If you weren't prepared for that, you shouldn't have hired a young coach. Alonso was a genius as a player and has already shown that he is a fantastic coach with the work he did at Bayer Leverkusen. Give him time, and let whatever players are causing him problems know that they have to fall in line. Either that, or acknowledge that this job is only possible for two or three coaches on the planet, which would say a lot about the state of your club if so.

TH: Yep, and they should make loads of money doing so. Madrid have made the mistake of owning three of the best five left wingers in the world, all of which have little apparent interest in playing anything but left wing. Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe have started to look a little better playing together. But they're still not on the same page, and are undoubtedly restricting each other and the club is still figuring out how to work in Rodrygo. If a big offer comes in: PSG, Saudi - wherever - Florentino Perez should at least consider it. 

RT: They could consider it, for sure. The attack is surely crowded and, if you were to pick one player to sell, you could say it's. Doing so would raise a bunch of funds that could be spent elsewhere while also freeing up space for Kylian Mbappe to play on the left. Could you take that huge fee and get a true No. 9 as well as some other key pieces? Probably. It's an idea worth considering, even if it is all dependent on what exactly the club thinks it can do with that money.

TH: Do we count the Eredivisie? Ok, that's a little harsh, but PSV are already running away with the Dutch top flight, and that duo really should find themselves with silverware at the end of the campaign. As for a big five league, why not Johnny Cardoso and the Copa del Rey? Atleti probably don't have what it takes to win La Liga. But a cup run is well within reach. 

RT: The easy answer would be the duo of Ricardo Pepi and Sergino Dest, as PSV continue to waltz through the Eredivisie. The fun answer would be Christian Pulisic, though, as he looks to lead Milan to a Scudetto. Currently one point behind rivals Inter, Milan will believe they can do it, particularly if Pulisic keeps playing at the level he has been. If he does that, the conversation around him will change dramatically, which would be wild in a World Cup year.

TH: Nah. Bayern are a really good team, but it's tricky to figure out exactly how good they are when they don't face the best competition every week in the Bundesliga. A group-stage loss to Arsenal can be explained away, but it does little to change the reality that PSG, Barcelona, and Manchester City feel more convincing Champions League bets than Bayern right now.

RT: They might be the favorites right now, yeah? There are plenty of contenders at the very top, and there will surely be twists and turns, but Bayern have shown one vital trait: an unwillingness to lose. They've shown the ability to fight back just as much as they've shown the ability to run away with games, and with Harry Kane doing Harry Kane things, they have the firepower to really give this a go.