Liverpool opinion: 2019-20 season preview – Liverpool finally break their PL duck?
The feeling around Liverpool seems positive, but we have been here before too. The Champions League win in June ended a tough season on a high and was a fantastic reward for all the hard work done.
Jurgen Klopp has built an incredible team and finally won his first trophy as Liverpool manager, but it could have been sweeter.
Missing out on the Premier League crown by a single point will continue to hurt, especially after we lost just one game in the season.
Liverpool bagged 97 points, had the best defence, two of the top scorers in the league and still missed out on the title.
That should be the aim for Klopp this season, and our performance in the Community Shield final proves we are still a fantastic side, even without any new first-team additions.
Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg could feature at some point in the season but the return of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a huge boost for us.
Adam Lallana looks fit and Naby Keita also looked good in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City. They need to stay free from injuries and they could provide us with that extra something we missed in some games in the previous season.
Liverpool
Player to watch – Rhian Brewster
Letting Daniel Sturridge leave in the summer was a tough call given that he was fit for most of the campaign last season, but it seems there are high hopes on Rhian Brewster.
The English youngster missed major parts of the previous seasons due to injuries, but looked great in pre-season.
The 19-year-old should play for the first-team at some point this season and could be the one to score some crucial goals.
Surprise performer – Adam Lallana
No need to throw the brickbats here, but Lallana could be a star in the deeper role.
The English midfielder has had a torrid time with injuries and only started five Premier League games in the previous campaign.
The former Saint is still one of the most technically gifted footballers we have in the squad, and if his passing range is top
Of course, all this depends on him staying fit and hopefully, he does not turn out to be the next Daniel Sturridge.
Top scorer – Sadio Mane
Salah has been excellent for the Reds over the past two years but last season, we saw Sadio Mane bag some important goals.
The former Saint was bagging some crucial goals when Salah was on a dry run, and he is one of the most dangerous attackers due to his pace and movement.
The Senegal international also took his team to the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations and was one of the Premier League’s top scorers in the previous campaign.
Salah looked dangerous against Manchester City on Sunday, but Mane could just edge out his fellow African in the goalscoring charts
Cup performances
The FA Cup and Carabao Cup journeys didn’t fare all that well last season with early eliminations but things could be different this time around.
The Reds might still rest some of their stars in the domestic competitions, but we could win one of the two crowns, possibly the Carabao Cup.
The Club World Cup should be an easy win if we play to our potential, and that tournament only adds two games to our schedule.
The UEFA Super Cup is tough to predict against a new Chelsea under Frank Lampard but we should be the favourites for this one-off game too. The Champions League journey was fantastic last season and there is no reason why we cannot reach the final once again.
Can we keep our title? This is a tough question, especially if we end up facing a resurgent Atletico Madrid or a Manchester City who are hungry to put us down.
League performance – Champions
We were close last season and that journey should have made us stronger for the upcoming campaign.
They lost captain Vincent Kompany too, while most of Liverpool’s players are in their prime.
Our rivals have spent more on certain positions but we have kept our stars, and they look good for the title. We cannot afford cheap draws like last season, and Klopp will certainly get his team to the top.
Top four prediction
1) Liverpool
2) Manchester City
3) Tottenham
4) Arsenal
