Football Season Guide

Liverpool

In


Konstantinos Tsimikas (def) Olympiacos; Loris Karius (gk) Besiktas – end of loan; Marko Grujic (mid) Hertha Berlin – end of loan; Harry Wilson (mid) Bournemouth – end of loan; Sheyi Ojo (mid) Rangers – end of loan; Ben Woodburn (mid) Oxford United – end of loan; Ovie Ejaria (mid) Reading – end of loan; Taiwo Awoniyi (att) Mainz 05 – end of loan;

Out


Dejan Lovren (sp) (def) Zenit; Adam Lallana (sp) (mid) Brighton; Andy Lonergan (gk) released; Nathaniel Clyne (def) released;

Reds lifted their first ever Premier League title at the end of last season with the form throughout the entire campaign in the league hugely impressive. Klopp’s men had the triumph all but secured as early as Christmas and especially their home form (W18 D1 L0) was outstanding. Liverpool had all their focus on the Premier League in 2019/20, which saw their results in other tournaments not so good. So far, all of the important players are staying at the club, although Salah is heavily linked with a move abroad before the transfer window closes after he expressed his desire to leave England. The only new signing made up to now is left-back Tsimikas which addresses the issue with lack of alternative for Robinson. Knowing Klopp, nothing will change in terms of approach to games or formation, 4-3-3 used always no matter what. In order to be competitive a much larger group of players will have to be used, though, as the schedule will be seriously congested in a season that is already shortened by 5 weeks. The counter-pressing, the great ball movement in the final third of the pitch and the constant threat provided by the 2 full-backs once again will be amongst Liverpool’s main strengths. Undoubtedly the results at home will continue to play huge part too. Obvious weakness is the lack of depth, which needs to be addressed with incoming transfers if Liverpool are to be as successful as last season. Also, many that know Klopp’s track record worry that the complete inability to mix things up and change formation or style of play eventually start to make the teams Klopp manages predictable and much easier to play against.

Target


Will be desperate to defend the title, but this likely to prove tall order. Still shouldn’t have problems finishing in the top 3.