Preseason Predictions - Where Will Liverpool Finish in the Premiership?

I will start with a shocking prediction that the league title FINALLY returns to Anfield this season, as Klopp's Reds win 30 matches, draw four and lose 4 for a 94 point winning total.

I reckon Man City are our toughest rivals for the crown.

How about the rest of you. Where will we finish?

94 points! That is optimistic.

I'll say 4th place and CL quarters - January window needed for a signing or two. I think Man City will win the title. Craig Shakespeare to be the first manager sacked followed by Mauricio Pellegrino.

4th and quarter finals of CL.

No cups again.

I'd settle for 4th in the league but it will be tricky. On the Champions league I'd be happy just to qualify first of all, Hoffenhiem are no mugs. If we do get through it then I'd be happy just to get out of our group and I don't think there's any shame in that as we've been out of it for a few years and we need to build again so that's why I'd prioritise the league. I think the league cup would look nice in the cabinet this season.

Of the top 4 from last season only spurs have failed to improve the squad but they probably didnt need much work done.

Arsenal havent done a whole lot but have no champions league. Utd have improved the squad.

Have we? With champions league in the equation probably not. Just dont see us having enough class outside the best 11 to deal with injuries and tiredness.

Sorry but going to say 4th at best with 6th every bit as likely

First .

Why not ?

We were last winter .... then we imploded with injuries and absences through international tournaments.

If you take our record against all the top teams  and can solve the problem of parked buses we've cracked it.


What have we done ?

Now we have two lethal wingers to get in behind the defences and get to the goal line to cut back.

Two lethal wingers to cut in and take the ball into the box with no one risking to tackle them.

Solanke as a conventional no. 9 to harry the defenders.


If we can only stop the set piece give aways  and get some reliable goal keeping we will get to first and stay first.

Yes.

Our first title for many moons.

Never stop believing !


Y.N.W.A.

Think we'll finish in the top 3, possibly win it, CL again I think we will do well but it really depends who our group opponents will be, I do think we will run over Hoffenheim, they are a decent outfit and do pose a threat, however I believe our pre-season games were geared up to have us ready for this match, only one outcome for me and over two legs we should qualify,

the league campaign as we all know is a marathon, I think Jürgen learnt a lot last season, he's much wiser and very much more knowledgable, improvement is what we all want to see so a third place finish would be satisfactory with hopefully a piece of silverware to boot, preferably the FA Cup over the league cup, but the CL would be Nirvana.


YNWA

Premier League: 3rd
Champions League: last 16
FA Cup: quarter finals
League Cup: winner

Another season of what if and some false dawns.

Go along with a finish, anywhere in the top 6. Although some silverware a must. Only to shut one of my Man u friends up, from saying all our trophies have gone rusty !

If we get vvd then I think we can maybe win the league otherwise top 4 and some silverware.

5th as it stands with no more signings and phil staying

Given that Spurs haven't strengthened, I think well just about squeeze forth spot. We'll qualify from the group stages in second place. No cup this season either though.

6th on present squad. Couple of signings maybe 4th

Hard to see past 4th. With small squad, injuries, CL football etc.
And Firmino as striker - like him, he's willing, good ability - but is not an out and out striker and we'd be a different side with one. Without one, hard to see us genuinely challenge for a title.
Still time before end of window

Wow I am really leading with my chin on the league title prediction.

As I think Jürgen will prioritize the league (once we get past Hoffenheim), I see us finishing 3rd in the CL group stage and then going from round of 32 to a semifinal exit in the Europa League.

I can't see us winning either Cup and I think we'll exit the League Cup a good bit earlier than we have the past two seasons.

But if we win England finally, nobody will much worry about that.

Wow I am really leading with my chin on the league title prediction.

As I think Jürgen will prioritize the league (once we get past Hoffenheim), I see us finishing 3rd in the CL group stage and then going from round of 32 to a semifinal exit in the Europa League.

I can't see us winning either Cup and I think we'll exit the League Cup a good bit earlier than we have the past two seasons.

But if we win England finally, nobody will much worry about that.

Not a snowball's chance in hell that Klopp will treat the CL with less attention than the league. To be honest I'm struggling to see what makes you think that would happen? Remember the ocean full of scorn that Rodgers received for starting a second string side away at Real Madrid? Klopp will be throwing everything at that competition and rightly so.

Wow I am really leading with my chin on the league title prediction.

As I think Jürgen will prioritize the league (once we get past Hoffenheim), I see us finishing 3rd in the CL group stage and then going from round of 32 to a semifinal exit in the Europa League.

I can't see us winning either Cup and I think we'll exit the League Cup a good bit earlier than we have the past two seasons.

But if we win England finally, nobody will much worry about that.

You're delusional if you think we can win the league mate.

Don't understand why anyone would suggest we'll finish outside the top 4, we had an injury crisis last season, you think we're going to be worse.

At the end of the season we were reduced to playing Origi as our striker, no winger and Milner at LB. Is that going to happen this season, no I don't think it will. Even with the extra games I think our ability to rotate will be far stronger than it was last year, if it isn't of course it will hurt us. The only place I think we'll really struggle is CM, I don't like the idea of playing Milner there.

I'd say if we went into the season with the squad we have then we can make top 4, that should be 'par' for those that like that phrase.

Who below us are a threat to pass us, United? Don't make me laugh. Arsenal, the only real threat in my opinion and there's still a chance they lose Sanchez and if that happens they've not improved at all.

Depending on fair draws I think we'll go:

League: 4th
Champions League: Last 16 (providing we never get a group that has 2 of: Barca/Real/Bayern/PSG/Juve)
League Cup: Quarter Final
F.A. Cup: Winner

Not a snowball's chance in hell that Klopp will treat the CL with less attention than the league. To be honest I'm struggling to see what makes you think that would happen? Remember the ocean full of scorn that Rodgers received for starting a second string side away at Real Madrid? Klopp will be throwing everything at that competition and rightly so.

Indeed and on top of that, look at his Champion's League record with Dortmund. He did amazingly well with them and still did well in the league too. There's no way he drops the CL. If anything, he'll drop the League Cup as that comes together with all the group stage games and I think the busy December period. Our progress in the CL will also determine how we treat the FA Cup probably.

At this point it's City's to lose. Guardiola's second year, the huge amount of money they have invested in players to suit his system and style of play, Kompany seemingly fit again, the quality of all their attacking players, ... Anything other than winning the league will be seen as a failure for them in my eyes.

I'm not that worried about Chelsea. A lot of people have pointed to our lack of squad depth, but how about Conte's squad then? As it stands, Conte has a squad of about 15 players (counting the injured / suspended ones) to choose from. No Hazard and no Costa, two of his most important players last season. Everyone says they have strenghtened, I don't agree. If anything, they look weaker. If Conte refuses to play Costa, it's going to cost them dearly. He might be an utter c**t, but he's a brilliant striker. Even though I really like Batshuayi, him and Morata don't even come close to Costa. Other than that, there are just like for like replacements in Rudiger for Terry and Bakayoko for Matic. They looked pretty poor in preseason too.

Same with Spurs, they have a brilliant starting eleven, but their bench looks so poor. The only good bench option they have is Son. Walker gone and now their stand-in RB is Walker-Peters (?). Still no replacement for when Kane is injured either. Their record at Wembley is poor and if they don't bring in players, it's going to be a very long season for them if they get hit by injuries.

Not really worried about Arsenal either. They'll be their usual selves, have a great spell somewhere in the season and then just everything falls to pieces again with airplanes with "Wenger out"-banners flying over the Emirates. Sanchez isn't fit to start the season, Özil is in the last year of his contract, they're not very good defensively and it remains to be seen how Lacazette does in the PL. I'm not convinced from what I've seen from him so far.

I think Mourinho will have a great shot at the "most boring team of the season"-trophy. Everything is setup to just sit back and play on the counter-attack. You can't play dominant football with Lukaku as a striker. They had a crazy amount of draws last season, I'm predicting we'll be seeing quite a few of them again this season.

My prediction (might change of course, there are still 3 weeks to go in the transfer window):

1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool (if we manage to get Van Dijk)
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Scum

Can't believe some Pundits, not the ones on here, are thinking we will finish 6th. What the F**k are they thinking???

Top 3 for sure and I'm gonna say we are going to win the whole thing.

F**k the rest of those cu*ts.

You're delusional if you think we can win the league mate.

You're buried in pessimism if you think we can't. You act like we were dreadful last season. This is a very good team.

What a disappointing post from a Liverpool supporter. Could you tip someone else to win it? Of course. But to look at this team and say thinking they could win is a delusion...regrettable.

Not a snowball's chance in hell that Klopp will treat the CL with less attention than the league. To be honest I'm struggling to see what makes you think that would happen? Remember the ocean full of scorn that Rodgers received for starting a second string side away at Real Madrid? Klopp will be throwing everything at that competition and rightly so.

I said "prioritize", I don't mean the way Brendan did it. We're talking six group stage fixtures and most of them if not all will be tucked between two weekend league matches. He won't be making 10 changes to the side or anything like that, but as he looks to rest a players or two when there's a strong of five matches in 14 days, that kind of thing, yes, I believe he'll rest that player or two in the European match rather than on the weekend.

I believe that because he knows we're not going to win the Champions League this season, but we can get a ton of cash for making the group stage and by finishing third there are still more European nights to enjoy.

But he believes, as I do that we can win the Premier League, and in our situation i think winning the league would mean more than anything (just now). We were undefeated against other top seven teams last season because we are the best football-playing side in the league. and you have to believe we CAN improve our results against the lower-table, bus-parking sides.  Do that and you can turn about five or six of our draws into wins, a few losses into draws and we're there.

I mean, we've all said we shouldn't have been losing/drawing to those sides in the first place, hey?

League champions

Between City and us, 20 days to get it sorted ,stay strong and believe in the big fella

Top two in the league.

At least QF's of the CL.

Don't understand why anyone would suggest we'll finish outside the top 4, we had an injury crisis last season, you think we're going to be worse

Fot me its because of a few factors.

1) opposition have improved the squads more than us to this point.

2) this season has added stress of champions league on the squad..

3) coutinho. If he goes

4) injury prone players. Our lack of top class signings added to likliehood that the following players  will miss a lot of games through injury Matip, Sturridge, Henderson plus the fair chance that Can Lallana Ings Clyne origi will miss a clatter of games with their seasonal injuries.

4) last seasons collapse. Why wont it happen again? Especially with champions league now. We lost 2 players over winter added to the style of play taking its toll and we fell off. Why would it not repeat itself?

5) what have we done to solve our biggest weakness, dealing with balls into the box from crosses corners set pieces?? You dont sort your biggest issue how do you improve?

6) who was the last team to win the title without a 20÷30 goal a season man? Nearest we have is most likely going to miss a large chunk of games injured so thats a concern.

Poll added.

Gut feeling is that we haven't invested enough in the size of the squad and while we do have a very good best XI - we look relatively unprepared to deal with the injuries they will collect in a 50+ game season.

I don't see a run at the title and I think it'll be another close run thing to try and finish 4th, sadly.

Without no more signings we might just scramble over the line to grab Top 4.

Having lost Lucas and Stewart we have not added a single midfielder, just look at what happened last year with kids on the pitch and infants on the bench!

Jürgen will demand 100% every game so injuries are inevitable, we out of all teams require a bigger squad because of the intensity of our play.

It's still the same defence and although Lovren may is not the worse CB in the league it's more about his and Matip's ability to stay injury free which is a concern because the drop off in quality with Klavan is huge.

The prem is wide open this year, why not us.

How romantic 

You're buried in pessimism if you think we can't. You act like we were dreadful last season. This is a very good team.

What a disappointing post from a Liverpool supporter. Could you tip someone else to win it? Of course. But to look at this team and say thinking they could win is a delusion...regrettable.

No mate what's regrettable is that we barely invested in the squad over the Summer considering we have CL football ahead.

We lost ONE player last season for a few weeks and our title challenge collapsed.

That was without European football.

I'm a realist mate not a pessimist.

A pessimist would say we have no chance of finishing top 4.

Heart always used to say win the league every year - they've been fading for a long long time though.

I think last year I predicted 5th.

This year, I'll say it'll be another dogfight for 4th.

Unless we get VVD and Keita, AND keep Coutinho, I think matching last season's league finish will be a fine effort. In the cups much depends on who you draw and where, but in the Champions League getting out of the group ought to be a realistic target.

If we DO get both our main transfer guys AND keep Coutinho, I think we'll give anyone a run until the lack of depth in the squad eventually trips us up. If you could guarantee Sturridge was going to stay fit and that Jürgen would play him fairly regular I'd say we'd have a right go, but ultimately the unlikelyhood of either of those happening and having a centre forward who will probs get a dozen goals or so will find us out.

My guess is we'll get VVD, Sturridge will get injured, we'll keep Phil till Christmas and perhaps get Keita then. Under those circumstances, I think we'll be sixth.

A miracle season with no injuries and we can challenge for the title. Our first 11-13 players are as good as anyones.

We won't have that though so I'm more pessimistic than I normally am and fear the extra workload of CL football will have a huge impact on our season if the squad stays as it is.

I have a feeling this season could be similar to Rafa's first with a great run in the CL and a struggle right to the end in the league.

Given that i believe we will improve every year under JK, i expect us to challenge for the title again this year and for much longer.
I expect that should we be in a position similar to last season, then he will purchase in January to cover our shortcomings.

Every year he is developing the players, this year i expect to see our defensive unit improve and in doing so, we can close out more games successfully. The top 6 will not be as open as they were against us last season, so Phil in the  no.10 role will be vital in the big matches and i would like to see us look at getting some cover for his position in January.

Regardless of VVD or Keita, i reckon we will have enough for a place in the top 4. Keep the squad fit and improving, then i can see us mounting a challenge for the title.

Our important signings havent been made yet .

20 days tick tock

Pre Virgil signing was the thinking behind my punt
£77 @ 12/1 gets me £1001 just enough  to get me over to see us lift old big ears for the 6th time
When VVD signs lucky to get 4s
 Mon the Reds

I have actually voted that we will win the title, don't under estimate the power of the Klopp  Have also put my money where my mouth is and put 50 quid each way on at 12/1, if we finish 2nd I get 4/1. Now that's f*cking romantic!

1/3 odds a place? It's normally 1/4 mate, don't promise the cash for anything before you've checked .

1/3 odds Mick just double checked (Paddypower).

Fair play mate, good bet!

City
United
Liverpool
Spurs
Arsenal
Chelsea

Cup win and top 3. If we buy VVD, anything is possible.

Citee
Pool
Spurs
Scum
Gooners
Chavs

Random Q - do we have a fantasy football league for the forum?

Random Q - do we have a fantasy football league for the forum?

https://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,49735.0.html

I bet some voters want to change their prediction now. #Brexitdejavu

With the current squad, I'm saying 4th or 5th due to injuries and not strengthening properly.

If we added a couple key components (and didn't lose Phil) then I'd be liking a 1st place finish.

I'll revise once the window closes........

Citee
Pool
Spurs
Scum
Gooners
Chavs

Is that 2nd with or without Cou?

Is that 2nd with or without Cou?

Think everyone's going to have to rethink their predictions.

First 

If the season goes well, we finish 5th. if it goes bad, we'll be 7th or worse. That's reality and the Watford game should have "healed" all dreamers.

With that defence and manger not buying l think we fhish 7 maybe cup if were lucky then it other rebuilt job on for next manger

put my money where my mouth is and put 50 quid each way on at 12/1, if we finish 2nd I get 4/1.

Where the heck did you get place odds like that Al; could you introduce me to your bookie please? 😁

My score quid @ 12/1 [@ 1/4 odds 1,2,3] only pays me 1/1 about my money for a place. 😭😭

We finished fourth with the present squad and we've added three.

Anyhoo.

Every year I'm highly optimistic and say we'll win so in the slight off chance it's my fault I'm going for....

Premier League - 3rd
Champions League - Win
League Cup - Win
Moose Cup - Win

Optimism reigned in, over to you guys.

So because we have added 3 players that means we cant finish lower. Are you serious ?

Paddypower matey...

4/1 a place is some going.

I got 12s, with 365, quarter the odds a place, which would only pay you 1/1 about your money. [£100 bet £200 return] ... ya jammy git. 😊😎

Fingers crossed. 🍀

With that defence and manger not buying l think we fhish 7 maybe cup if were lucky then it other rebuilt job on for next manger

Well your full of the joys of a new season aren't you pal !!

Just be honest as fan you can't keep leak in that amount think you going win games

What about sort out defense and midfield then maybe we start win things again

We're going to win it this season.  I've waited 28 years, and I haven't given up yet.

I need to believe. That's what it's about at the end of the day, isn't it?  Otherwise what's the point?

Naive?  Maybe.  Foolish?  Probably. 

But my expectations are high, and every man Jack at the club had better share them as far as I'm concerned.  Klopp does.

Heart, winning it or challenging....

Head,
1. Man Utd
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Liverpool

We could end up with a weaker squad being in more competitions... this was the market to become challengers, hasn't turned out that way 

Some of the reactions are a bit knee jerk to the way the seasons started; not ideal, but hardly the end of the world. What will be telling for me is how the team handles the two midweek Champions League qualification games, and the performance levels against Crystal Palace and Arsenal in the league.

The transfer window has also not instilled confidence. Would at the moment say that I do not see the team finishing in the top 4, not with the current team without additions and with the cloud hanging over Coutinho's head.

When I suggested the teams who finished below us had strengthened (particularly Man Utd) a week or two back, many poured scorn on the idea. Having watched the game yesterday, I think they will not only finish in the top four but will very likely challenge for the title.

Lukaku was an absolute no brainer (despite what some on here claimed) as was/is Matic. That's how you strengthen teams, identify what you want and go get them.

For us, I maintain 4th would be a huge achievement given the relative strength of our squad.

When I suggested the teams who finished below us had strengthened (particularly Man Utd) a week or two back, many poured scorn on the idea. Having watched the game yesterday, I think they will not only finish in the top four but will very likely challenge for the title.

Lukaku was an absolute no brainer (despite what some on here claimed) as was/is Matic. That's how you strengthen teams, identify what you want and go get them.

For us, I maintain 4th would be a huge achievement given the relative strength of our squad.

Fazakerly Mick,
Unless new faces are seen before the window closes we'll be lucky to stay within the top 6 never mind 4,
How or why this hasn't been addressed is beyond me if I'm honest,

There is quality out there, perhaps no 'A' plan quality but quality none the less, even if it's to bolster our numbers we need to strengthen or we can forget winning anything of note!

YNWA

6th unless FSG and Klopp get their fingers out.

FSG to get us more players and Klopp to play them in a game and make some sensible substitutions at sensible time.

6th unless FSG and Klopp get their fingers out.

FSG to get us more players and Klopp to play them in a game and make some sensible substitutions at sensible time.

Pretty much where I'm at and I suspect many other reds also.
If the team stays as it is with no further players coming in then I do think there will be many more results like the game on Saturday,yes I know that Saturday was only the first game of the season but the issues we all seen on Saturday have plagued the reds for a fair few seasons now and it needs sorting out.

This will be interesting to see come next June. Everyone seems to be predicting that we will crumble if we lose Coutinho and although we didn't have him for some parts of last season through injury and in some games went missing, we still came in 4th. Yes I'm sure we will struggle a little if he does move on but the question will be if he'll be replaced or not. At this point if we keep phil then what we've purchased at this point in the window we have strengthend the squad in certain areas where we needed to but not all. We've brought in Solanke and he looks like a good option and if Sturridge is as fit as they say he is then he would certainly strengthen us. Left back is a positive when Robinson is ready, I wouldn't of expected him to jump straight in unless he had a great pre season, which he didn't. Our current midfield 3 don't look the best at the moment but id expect that to change going through the rest of the season. Our 1st choice CB,s don't look the best and I'm sure Migs would be alot better with better CB,s in front of him and that goes for Karius also.
So if we lose Phil what do we need to do?a direct replacement will be difficult. A change of formation maybe? We are rumoured with a number of players but nothing will change until we know if Phil stays or goes and I'm sure this will be sorted really soon. Personally I'd don't think we'll get VVD and don't think we should be spending that kind of money that the saints will demand on him. Yes he is a very good player but the £50 to £60 million that would of been expensive, but we would of paid it, has gone out of the window now I think because if Phil goes we will be looking at £80 to £90 million now.
If Phil goes it's one or the other for me, we either look to replace him, which will be very difficult or we buy VVD....not do both. If we buy VVD then I'd put Firmino as a CAM with 2 CM behind him then go buy a striker or wing/forward.
Rumours are that Draxler and Howedes could be available. If that's the case then go get them these 2 would do more for our squad then just buying in VVD. With this in mind if we loose Phil and get in the 2 above we are looking at progressing from our 4th place finish. If we loose phil and get nobody in then we'll struggle to get 4th.
Looking at the squad as it is if Phil stays and gets his head right and no one else comes in then we still look better than last season.
If it goes the other way then we do look weaker in the midfield area.
So my predictions are this:
Without phil and no more signings 6th.
Without phil and VVD coming in 4th.
With Phil and no more signings 3rd.
On the other hand if Phil stays and we did get the other players that we were targeting, Keita and VVD and think we would have been close to the title or maybe even winning it.

Unless we get VVD and Keita, AND keep Coutinho, I think matching last season's league finish will be a fine effort. In the cups much depends on who you draw and where, but in the Champions League getting out of the group ought to be a realistic target.

If we DO get both our main transfer guys AND keep Coutinho, I think we'll give anyone a run until the lack of depth in the squad eventually trips us up. If you could guarantee Sturridge was going to stay fit and that Jürgen would play him fairly regular I'd say we'd have a right go, but ultimately the unlikelyhood of either of those happening and having a centre forward who will probs get a dozen goals or so will find us out.

My guess is we'll get VVD, Sturridge will get injured, we'll keep Phil till Christmas and perhaps get Keita then. Under those circumstances, I think we'll be sixth.

I think you are massively over estimating Spurs and the Chavs and I'm still not 100% convinced about the Arse either. I can see them all having tricky seasons for different reasons whilst I think this will be a season for a lot of our youngsters to start to really shine and break through, plus I think Mane and Salah will forge the league's deadliest attack force, almost impossible to defend against, especially when we get Coutinho back into the team.
Its far to early to evaluate Manure and Citeh but undoubtedly they will be stronger and will probably be fighting it out for the title but if we can finally have some luck with injuries AND get VVD and Keita (or equivalents) then I think we have an outside chance.

As it stands I'll go for 3rd place, a cup and a good run in the CL possibly QF.

I think you are massively over estimating Spurs and the Chavs and I'm still not 100% convinced about the Arse either. I can see them all having tricky seasons for different reasons whilst I think this will be a season for a lot of our youngsters to start to really shine and break through, plus I think Mane and Salah will forge the league's deadliest attack force, almost impossible to defend against, especially when we get Coutinho back into the team.
Its far to early to evaluate Manure and Citeh but undoubtedly they will be stronger and will probably be fighting it out for the title but if we can finally have some luck with injuries AND get VVD and Keita (or equivalents) then I think we have an outside chance.

As it stands I'll go for 3rd place, a cup and a good run in the CL possibly QF.

You know what, I bet most of our rivals aren't convinced about us either - hell, even half the fan base aren't

You know what, I bet most of our rivals aren't convinced about us either - hell, even half the fan base aren't

, fair point that

You know what, I bet most of our rivals aren't convinced about us either - hell, even half the fan base aren't

living in Essex working in London, I'm surrounded by Arsenal, West ham, Spurs and Chelsea... with a side order of Utd too!

…and I know for a fact that no-one fancies us to do anything. And with the Coutinho situation still hanging in the balance no-one don't see’s that changing.

Me? I can’t argue with their opinion. I had big aspirations in May but they've just slipped lower and lower.

Being in the CL I thought we’d have a chance of finishing 4 as well as a QF in the CL… and that was IF we signed big name recruits but we haven’t.

Running with the current squad in both big comps we’ll do well to finish 6th. I see a horrible battle between us and Everton for the 6th spot.

If we buy (and not sell) we could do better… not hopeful from what I’ve seen in 2 games!

I think you are massively over estimating Spurs and the Chavs and I'm still not 100% convinced about the Arse either. I can see them all having tricky seasons for different reasons whilst I think this will be a season for a lot of our youngsters to start to really shine and break through, plus I think Mane and Salah will forge the league's deadliest attack force, almost impossible to defend against, especially when we get Coutinho back into the team.
Its far to early to evaluate Manure and Citeh but undoubtedly they will be stronger and will probably be fighting it out for the title but if we can finally have some luck with injuries AND get VVD and Keita (or equivalents) then I think we have an outside chance.

As it stands I'll go for 3rd place, a cup and a good run in the CL possibly QF.

Spurs have one of the best defensive teams in the league, and they have been getting better with each passing season under Pochettinno both in the goals scored column, and in the defensive side of things. They also seem to be willing to play their kids in the cups, or bail out of the Europa League should they fall there after the group stages in the Champions League.

They are also adding someone who is considered very good into what was a really good defensive outfit. Do I believe that they will concede only 26 again this season? No! But I can see them conceding 30ish goals, and that would be a fantastic return.

Arsenal? I do not see them losing 9 games as they did last season, and it is likely that they will utilize their squad depth in the Europa League for the most part. This is a team that has also added a really finisher, so if they create for him, they will score more than they did last season. Sanchez is yet to feature for them in attack. Going to three at the back also helped them get a lot better on that end of things; they will also get better in the coming weeks with Koscielny coming back from suspension, Mustafi being fit enough to start, and Mertesacker coming back from injury.

The one team I think might struggle is Chelsea. They are yet to sort out their depth issues and like Liverpool, they now have extra games in the middle of the week.

Onto LFC, Mane and Salah are great, but you cannot go into games thinking that you need to score two or three goals to win because there are issue with the defensive side of things. Only one team in the world has managed to do that, and that was Real Madrid........and they had an insane attack. Couple this to the fact that there is not much quality depth, then the team with a few injuries here and there and you have a crisis.

I quite honestly can't see us finishing in a Champions league spot this year, especially if we lose Coutinho. We simply haven't done enough business this Summer to compete. A couple of key injuries and we're already down to the bare bones of a squad before the season has even got going. Get them around December to Janurary, a key time when matches are coming thick and fast and we'll see a repeat of last year.

We have a Center Back who doesn't trust the lad to his left, a Goalkeeper as unpredictable as Trump and nowhere near enough dynamism in midfield. Add to that a system that lends itself to leaking goals and I can't see there being a change. I see us again being the top goal scorers in the league whilst simultaneously being the the leakiest in the top seven. I most certainly do not share Klopp's niave optimism on the strength and depth of this squad.

All that being said, should we get two or three quality additions to key areas of the squad over the next twelve days and should Klopp show more tactical flexibility than he did last season, I can see us challenging for the title. I know this sounds like I'm hedging my bets but it really just comes down to what we do in the market between now and the end of the window. If we don't do business, as unpallatable as the thought of purposefully not trying everything we can to win a trophy is, I think we should take a leaf out of Wenger's book and use the cups as learning experience for the kids whilst the senior players focus on and prioritise the league and Europe. I think we all accept now that without Champions League football, we're not attracting the calibre of player needed to propel us to domestic and european glory.

Tell you when the windows shut and the Couts fiasco is sorted ,as is 4 or 5th, if we get a few in depending who they are can see us push for No19, Spuds , Chelski , Arsenal dont see them winning it , its the Manky Mancs , Maureen`s got a big powerful unit , City signed some quality, so quality is what we require with the limited time left to kick on and rattle a few cages . 

I quite honestly can't see us finishing in a Champions league spot this year, especially if we lose Coutinho. We simply haven't done enough business this Summer to compete. A couple of key injuries and we're already down to the bare bones of a squad before the season has even got going. Get them around December to Janurary, a key time when matches are coming thick and fast and we'll see a repeat of last year.

We have a Center Back who doesn't trust the lad to his left, a Goalkeeper as unpredictable as Trump and nowhere near enough dynamism in midfield. Add to that a system that lends itself to leaking goals and I can't see there being a change. I see us again being the top goal scorers in the league whilst simultaneously being the the leakiest in the top seven. I most certainly do not share Klopp's niave optimism on the strength and depth of this squad.

All that being said, should we get two or three quality additions to key areas of the squad over the next twelve days and should Klopp show more tactical flexibility than he did last season, I can see us challenging for the title. I know this sounds like I'm hedging my bets but it really just comes down to what we do in the market between now and the end of the window. If we don't do business, as unpallatable as the thought of purposefully not trying everything we can to win a trophy is, I think we should take a leaf out of Wenger's book and use the cups as learning experience for the kids whilst the senior players focus on and prioritise the league and Europe. I think we all accept now that without Champions League football, we're not attracting the calibre of player needed to propel us to domestic and european glory.

Good post.

Without no more signings we might just scramble over the line to grab Top 4.

Having lost Lucas and Stewart we have not added a single midfielder, just look at what happened last year with kids on the pitch and infants on the bench!

Jürgen will demand 100% every game so injuries are inevitable, we out of all teams require a bigger squad because of the intensity of our play.

It's still the same defence and although Lovren may is not the worse CB in the league it's more about his and Matip's ability to stay injury free which is a concern because the drop off in quality with Klavan is huge.

We added an extra midfielder although I don't think the Ox replaces any of our current starting midfielders.
Keeping Couts even with him being a complete Kunt is still a major plus.

The glaring hole was defence so unless Klavan and Gomez have breakout seasons I am sticking by my prediction of a Top 4 finish.
Possibly a CL quarterfinal at a push but against the better teams our defence will be suspect.

4th again in the league.

Quarters of the CL.

Win the League.
Win the European Cup.
Win the FA Cup.
Win the League Cup.

4th again in the league.

Quarters of the CL.

Yup that is where I am at..solidify where we are now and continue to build out...consistency there will consistently bring out better player available to us.