Premier League Team Preview: 2023/2024 Season — Liverpool F.C

5th place, major outgoings, rumours of a departure for Thiago Alcantara as well . Liverpool go into this upcoming season looking the most uncertain that they’ve been in over 5 years. Last year’s less than stellar season left them trophy less, without top 4, out of the Champions League by the Round of 16, and they were out of the FA Cup in January (FA Cup 5th Round).

Liverpool ended the 2022/2023 season chasing a top 4 spot that was long out of their reach given how they’d started their season, they looked like a team completely lost at sea, stripped of what once made them so effective, it was their first season after their once famous front 3 had been disbanded, and his replacement Darwin Nunez has not yet had the impact it was hoped that he would. Aside from him it also seemed that a lot of players in Liverpool’s squad simply were not the players that they once were, Fabinho played like a geriatric, Trent performed as if he’d never known what a RB is expected to do and VVD looked very much like someone who suffered a career changing injury. As pivotal as all those players are and as detrimental as their performances were, Liverpool still have lots to be positive about

Liverpool reached the end of last season as the most in form team in the league, they showed a few times last season that the devastating attack threat they once possessed is not all the way blunted. Mohammed Salah is still Mohammed Salah, I expect Darwin Nunez will improve on his performances last season, Curtis Jones looks more and more like a Liverpool player than he ever has before, Luis Diaz is back from injury and will have a full preseason.

Liverpool for the most part come into this season with tons to be optimistic about, they have a less gruelling European schedule, at least in terms of who they’ll face and come into this season with a bigger and more reliable squad than the one they had last season. They’re a team that has had their weaknesses made clear for al to see and have had over 6 months to try and course correct, and I believe that aside from a certain level of defensive frailty that still exists, they’ve done that

Incomings: Dominick Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Alister.

A window where they’ve addressed their gaping hole in midfield, accepted that they need more than one teenager to fix it, and signed two much more creative midfielders than they’ve typically utilised. Liverpool replacing Oxlade Chamberlain and Keita with these two footballers feels like an incredible upgrade, availability is the best ability after all.

What to look out for: I still have my concerns about Fabinho and how he’ll perform this season, but if the end of the last season is anything to go by he might not be as much of a spent force as he looked at first, but if he is Liverpool might have a bigger challenge on their hands than it seems. Bajcetic is promising but giving him that level of responsibility might be too big an ask, but the phrase “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” comes to mind here. Let’s hope that’s the case for him this season

Expected position: 3rd

As good as they are I still think Liverpool would need another defensive addition to their squad to truly be title contenders again, but a return to the Champions League should represent.