Premier League - Football: Liverpool season preview

bet365 News Team Published: Aug 04 2022 17:10

Liverpool came within one point of regaining the Premier League title, alongside a domestic cup double last season, with Manchester City pipping them to top spot.

It was a season of what could have been for the Reds, as talk of a possible record-breaking quadruple continued through the majority of the campaign, only to fall short in the space of seven days.

However, Jurgen Klopp's men still brought home the FA Cup and the League Cup, two trophies the red side of Merseyside hadn't won since 2006 and 2012, respectively.

After beating City 3-1 in July's Community Shield, Liverpool will hope they have set the tone for a successful season.

What	England Premier League 2022/23
Where	England
When	5th August 2022 - 28th May 2023
How to watch	Selected matches broadcast on Sky, BT Sport and Amazon Prime
Odds	Manchester City 4/7, Liverpool 2/1, Tottenham 14/1, Chelsea 16/1, Manchester United 33/1

Where did Liverpool finish last season?

2nd

What are Liverpool's hopes for the season?

Expectations will be that Liverpool can mount another title challenge and lift trophies again this term, but Klopp will be aware just how tough it will be to finish top of the pile.

With the additions of forward Erling Haaland and midfielder Kalvin Phillips, the Citizens look harder to beat than ever.

Klopp has stated himself that Champions League qualification via the league is once again the "main target" for the Merseysiders.

They are 1/8 for another top four-finish and 5/2 to win the title.

With the additions of Uruguan forward Darwin Nunez and young attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho, the Reds appear to have filled the hole left by outgoing Senegalese star Sadio Mane.

Overall, a second-place finish within touching distance of the top would more than likely satisfy Klopp and the Liverpool faithful again.

And, while the Reds will hope to avoid the agonising final-day pain of last season, there can be no complaints about another title bid, no matter the eventual outcome.

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Who are Liverpool's opening opponents?

Liverpool will face Fulham at Craven Cottage on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. It could be a tougher fixture than many expect for Klopp and his men, with the Cottagers flying to the Championship title in the previous campaign.

To add to this, the last time these two met in the 2020/21 campaign, the Reds succumbed 1-0 to Fulham at Anfield, while they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Cottagers away from home earlier that season.

Liverpool are 3/10 favourites to start with a win, a Fulham victory is 9/1 and the draw is 4/1.

When are Liverpool's key fixtures?

The Reds face big challenges early on in the season, with their third game of the campaign on 22nd August being a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

The first Merseyside derby of the season comes on 3rd September, when they take on Everton at Goodison Park.

Liverpool's toughest run arguably comes in October, with a trip to Arsenal on the 8th October, followed by two home clashes, against Manchester City and West Ham on the 15th and 19th, respectively.

The Reds face Southampton at home on 12th November in their last game before the Premier League pauses for the winter World Cup in Qatar and they resume their campaign with a trip to Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

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Who is Liverpool's manager?

The 2022/23 campaign will be Klopp's seventh full season in charge at Anfield. The German replaced Brendan Rodgers in October 2015 and the Reds haven't looked back since.

Klopp began his managerial stint where he ended his playing career, at Mainz. He then earned himself a move to German giants Borussia Dortmund in 2008 where he stayed until 2015, leading them to a Champions League final and two Bundesliga titles.

The German will go down as a Liverpool legend after leading them to Champions League glory in 2019, 12 months before he ended the club's 30-year wait to be crowned English champions.

He's also overseen two seasons in which they have finished second to Manchester City by just a point and last season won both domestic cups.

What players have Liverpool signed?

Darwin Nunez (Benfica)
Fabio Carvalho (Fulham)
Calvin Ramsay (Aberdeen)

Which players have left Liverpool?

Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest)
Takumi Minamino (Monaco)
Marko Grujic (Porto)
Ben Davies (Rangers)
Divock Origi (AC Milan)
Sheyi Ojo (Cardiff)
Ben Woodburn (Preston)
Rhys Williams (Blackpool, Loan)
Loris Karius (Free agent)
Elijah Dixon-Bonner (Released)
Luis Longstaff (Released)
Conor Bradley (Bolton, Loan)
Jakub Ojrzynski (Radomiak, Loan)
James Balagizi (Crawley Town, Loan)
Marcelo Pitaluga (Macclesfield, Loan)
Owen Beck (Famalicao, Loan)
Tom Clayton (Swindon)
Rhys Williams (Blackpool, Loan)
Ben Davies (Rangers)
Tyler Morton (Blackburn, Loan)
Leighton Clarkson (Aberdeen, Loan)

Who are Liverpool's star players?

Star player	Mohamed Salah
Potential top scorer	Mohamed Salah
Set-piece king	Trent Alexander-Arnold
Exciting youngster	Fabio Carvalho

The loss of Mane from Liverpool's frontline leaves a huge hole for Klopp to fill. The Senegalese bagged 16 goals in the Premier League last term, as the Reds finished second.

The combination of new signing Nunez, along with now familiar faces Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota should make up for the loss of the former Southampton man. However, after signing a new long-term contract, it is Mohamed Salah who will likely continue to grab headlines for the men in red next season.

Since arriving back in England, the Egypt international has averaged over 23 goals a season in the Premier League and there is no reason to believe that will change this year.

Since scoring a wonder free-kick in the Champions League against Hoffenheim back in 2017, Liverpool haven't looked past Trent Alexander-Arnold as their set-piece specialist. The 23-year-old has a very impressive record from dead ball scenarios as well as in the assist stats.

Next season offers new signing Carvalho his first full season in the Premier League. The 19-year-old started 33 times last term, as he made his professional breakthrough to help Fulham lift the Championship title.

The Reds have wanted Carvalho for a long time now, with much of the January transfer window spent pursuing the tricky midfielder's signature. However, Klopp finally has his man as he will look to prove he can perform on the biggest stage.

Which of Liverpool's players will be going to the World Cup?

A team challenging for a quadruple last season would be expected to be full of stars jetting off to Qatar for the upcoming World Cup, however, this isn't exactly the case for Liverpool.

Players such as Egypt's Salah and Andy Robertson of Scotland both failed to qualify for this year's tournament, while the likes of Roberto Firmino and Ibrahima Konate need a strong start to the new campaign if they hope to be on the plane to the Middle East with Brazil and France, respectively.

Ultimately, Liverpool have eight players who look likely to go to Qatar, with Virgil van Dijk captaining the Netherlands in their first World Cup since 2014 and Alisson between the sticks for Brazil.

The likes of Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Jota, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Nunez all also look to be in a good position to feature for their countries come November.