With just under a week until Liverpool open their domestic calendar with a trip to Portman Road, the home of newly promoted Ipswich Town, fans will wonder how the Reds will perform under the newly appointed Dutch manager, Arne Slot.
With the potential of incomings within the coming weeks and a strong pre-season, fans have plenty of reason to be optimistic about what awaits them in the future.
However, the failure to capture Martin Zubimendi and not lining up an alternative holding midfielder is a major concern, considering Wataru Endo’s struggles in pre-season.
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Season recap
The Reds will be preparing to achieve greater heights than they did last year after finishing third in the Premier League, dropping out of both the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League in the quarterfinals and only picking up the Carabao Cup trophy, in a season where at one point there was a chance the Reds could have collected a quadruple.
After a disastrous 2022/23 campaign, seeing the club finish in fifth, Klopp’s side was looking to right their wrongs.
The campaign started with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge before five consecutive wins, placing Klopp’s team in second.
Fast forward to late September and the Reds were back in London, this time to face Tottenham Hotspur, in a game that will be remembered for all the negatives.
From goals being overturned to a questionable sending-off, VAR and its officials were caught in controversy again.
Following the Spurs game, Liverpool drew to Brighton before beating Everton 2-0. Everton's transfer review
Confidence was at an all-time high, seeing the Merseysiders go 14 games unbeaten, winning ten and drawing four, occupying the summit of the table during the winter period.
That streak ended after a trip to the Emirates Stadium, which saw title contenders Arsenal come away as 3-1 victors.
The Reds rallied back, winning four straight games before hosting Manchester City at Anfield on March 10 but were forced to settle for a draw; as a result, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal were in a three-way race for the title.
After two more wins for Jurgen Klopp's team, the clubs hopes of winning the Premier League title were dashed by another costly stalemate at Old Trafford and losses to Crystal Palace and Everton.
As the season came to an end, it became apparent that the players were suffering from both physical and mental strain.
A number of the Reds' senior players saw a fall in form at a time when the team most needed them due to injuries and the announcement of Klopp’s decision to quit.
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The transfer window so far
Since the transfer window opened on June 14th, Slot’s side has not yet opted to bring in any new players.
It was reported that the Reds showed significant interest in securing Euro 2024 winner Martin Zubimendi’s services but that was shut down in the past few days after he chose to stay committed to his boyhood club Real Sociedad.
Another report has suggested that the Merseyside outfit is weighing up a move for Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, with the intention of sending him out on loan to get him prepared to take over from Alisson Becker’s role as number one.
Meetings with the club and the player’s representatives are said to be taking place with the player reportedly keen on securing the move.
Although there have been no incomings yet, the club have recently offloaded 21-year-old Fabio Carvalho for £27.5 million to Brentford, after a stint at Hull City and German outfit RB Leipzig last year.
Departures and arrivals
Meanwhile, several players have also departed the club.
One of which is Adrian who has joined Real Betis on a free, after a 4 year stay on Merseyside which saw him muster up 26 appearances whilst Scottish full-back Calvin Ramsey has joined League One side Wigan Athletic for a season-long loan.
Talented youngster Bobby Clark is set to join RB Salzburg in a £10 million deal with former assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders raiding his former club for top talent.
There is a chance that Sepp van den Berg could also leave the club with a £20 million valuation proving a stumbling block to interested clubs so far.
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Strongest XI
Based on what has been seen during Slot’s first pre-season, he tends to set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with two midfielders sat deeper in the pivot.
With that being the case, these are the best players that he may opt to use…
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz
Goalkeeper
Alisson Becker will be the Reds’ first choice again this season once again showing his ability to bail his side out when needed.
Defenders
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will be the new head coach’s strongest options in their respective positions but that isn’t to say that young Conor Bradley can’t force himself into the starting lineup occasionally.
In the centre-back role, skipper Virgil Van Dijk will remain in place for the majority of the season whilst 21-year-old Jarell Quansah could get the look-in over Ibrahima Konate following a good showing during preseason.
Midfielders
After a quality showing both for the club and country, Alexis MacAllister will be tipped to start most games when fit in a double pivot at the base of midfield with Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai in a more advanced role.
Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic will be expected to get significant minutes across the season and Wataru Endo will be used as back-up holding midfielder, if he is not moved on before the end of the transfer window.
Forwards
Mohamed Salah will most likely be a mainstay for the Reds throughout the season and with hopes that Diogo Jota remains fit he will most likely, he will start in the centre of attack.
However, the new boss may encounter a selection dilemma on the left side of his attack.
As it stands Luis Diaz seems the favourite to occupy that position but with Darwin Nunez and Slot’s compatriot Cody Gakpo both capable of taking up that spot, they could alternate as the season goes on.
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Arne Slot
The Arne Slot philosophy
Entering his first season on Merseyside, the Dutchman will have a lot on his hands if he hopes to take the Reds in the right direction.
He made a name for himself as one of Europe’s most promising managers after a successful two-year stint at Eredivisie outfit Feyenoord.
His philosophy tends to focus on high-intensity pressing, quick transitions from defence to attack and fluid attacking football, which aligns well with the principles that Klopp instilled within the side.
Tactically, he may introduce some new ideas to help evolve Liverpool’s overall style of play.
Some similarities already exist within the Reds camp, that being his organised pressing and fluid attacking but as seen in preseason, Slot seems to favour a more possession-based approach, which will add a different dimension, especially against teams that tend to sit back and defend.
During his last season at Feyenoord, his side ranked second for short passes meanwhile they ranked second to last for long passes completed, which drastically differs from his predecessor’s side who tended to play the ball long from the defence to the wingers out wide.
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Expected finish – 3rd
The expectations at Liverpool are set to a high standard by everyone in football whether they are a fan of the club or not.
With Jurgen Klopp leaving last year, the club is going through an internal rebuild so expectations for the upcoming season may not be as high as previous when you consider that the players will have to go through a period of transition under the tutelage of the Dutch manager.
It would be unrealistic to say that the Reds are one of the favourites to top the league this year especially when all the clubs around their whereabouts, in terms of stature, are in the process of reinforcing their squad whilst the Reds are yet to make a signing.
That said, a top 4 finish for the Reds is achievable, especially after watching how the players have adapted to life under their new head coach during preseason.
Beating Manchester United and Arsenal doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but fans and players alike will be pleased to see Slot’s preferred way of play has been nothing short of impressive.
The Reds will be hoping to achieve a top-four finish in the 2024/25 season and with the calibre of players already on board that is an achievable target.
