Liverpool finished outside of the top four last season but they will be hoping to start with a clean slate and rebooted mindset when they take on Chelsea in their first match of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
The Reds under Jurgen Klopp have always been mindful of their spending and this summer has been no different. Liverpool have made only a handful of signings so far and if rumours are to be believed then there there won’t be too many new signings coming in the next few weeks.
The Anfield outfit had a pretty solid pre-season as they lost only one match and that was to Bayern Munich but all this preparation will mean nothing if they are humiliated by Chelsea. Klopp was out of answers last season but the manager will have to get things back on track this time around. The management still has immense faith in the German coach but if Liverpool cannot get back into the Champions League then it won’t take time for this trust to fade away.
Liverpool’s team news and injuries:
The Merseyside outfit have so far signed only two players and both of them are midfielders which means Jurgen Klopp will have to field a very similar line up which played last season. The club has worked hard to solve the midfield problem which was a major cause of concern for Liverpool last season but many pundits and experts thought the existing players were exhausted which is why the manager needs to start overhauling his squad.
Clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal have gone out and signed multiple players this summer but it’s clear that the Anfield management is not ready to jump all in.
Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold will be the two full-backs while Virgil Van Dijk and Konate pair up in central defence.
Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have moved to the Saudi Pro League while Naby Keita has moved to Werder Bremen as a free agent. Thiago Alcantara is expected to miss out with an injury which means we will see both Szoboszlai and Mac Allister start in the middle of the pitch.
Liverpool are being linked with Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia but Chelsea have also entered the race and now, there are fears that the Blues could hijack this transfer.
Roberto Firmino has left the club after the expiration of his contract but Klopp has plenty of backup in the attacking department so he won’t be too worried about naming his front three.
However, the manager currently has three left-wingers in his squad so it will be interesting to see whom he chooses on the first matchday of the new season. Diaz, Gakpo and Diogo Jota all prefer to play out the left-hand side but on Sunday, we have a feeling Klopp will put Luis Diaz on the left flank and use Cody Gakpo as the centre-forward.
Liverpool predicted line up vs Chelsea:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Alisson; Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson, Trent; Mac Allister, Curtis Jones, Szoboszlai; Luis Diaz, Mo Salah, Gakpo.
