After losing the title by a point to Manchester City in the final day of last season, Liverpool will look to start strong again this season with no room for error. Liverpool gave city a run for the title last season and went on to win the champions league marking a successful season for Klopp’s men and it’s widely anticipated that both City and Liverpool will lock horns again for the title this season with Liverpool looking set to win their first title in the premier league era.
There’s no major transfers in this season with the young Sepp van den berg and Harvey Elloitt being the only buys this season so far while Sturridge and Moreno being some notable names to leave the club.
Pre-season Form
Liverpool started their pre-season with back to back brushing aside Tranmere rovers and Bradford city before flying to the US, where they lost two games and drew one so far. It’s better not to read too much into it as it was played on proper football pitch and Klopp mostly gave the young lads a run. However, he hinted that Liverpool should put their Champions league victory celebrations behind them and look forward to finish the pre-season well.
Star Man – Mohamed Salah (£12.5m)
Probably the most obvious pick ever. Salah secured back to back golden boot in the last two seasons and will be looking to do it for the third time in a row. He’s the leading FPL points scorer since his debut season with Liverpool. With an aging Milner set to get limited minutes, Salah looks the prime candidate to be on penalty duties. Egypt crashed out of AFCON early which gives Mo enough time to rest and recover for the new season.
Hidden Gem – Joe Gomez (£5.5m)
Last season, Klopp identified Gomez along with Alisson to solve Liverpool’s defensive crisis. Gomez was rock solid along with Van Dijk and went on to keep 7 clean sheets before being sidelined with injury. He played as CB for the most part and moved to RB when Liverpool looked to defend deep and counter attack. His replacements did a good job covering him but Gomez is now fit and has a full pre-season under belt. He’ll look set to continue from where he left off. At 5.5M he’ll be the cheapest route into the rock solid Liverpool defence.
Gamble Pick – Alex Oxlade Chamberlain (£6.5m) & Divock Origi (£6.5m)
The first full season was a transition period for Ox and there were moments where you can see his sheer brilliance, like the goal against Manchester city. Just when you thought he nailed his spot in the team, he suffered a knee injury which kept him out all season. He’s part of Liverpool’s pre-season games this year and while writing this article, Klopp mentioned a calf complaint for the Ox and mentioned that the recovery process from his knee injury will be longer than expected. But if the Ox does stay fit this season, then he’ll nail down a starting spot in the team and could prove to be a bargain.
With Firmino getting an extended break after his Copa America involvement, Origi (£6.5m) looks to start the season as the striker for the first few games. He had a good pre-season so far and will be confident after scoring the vital goal for Liverpool in the champions league final. He’ll be an excellent short-term option for the start of the new season. Keep an eye on Klopp’s teamsheet in the community shield game to see if Origi starts or if Klopp plays Shaqiri in the wing and moves Salah to the centre instead.
Predicted Line-up
Alisson
Trent – Gomez – Van Dijk – Robertson
Chamberlain – Fabinho – Wijnaldum
Salah – Firmino – Mane
Note: If Chamberlain is injured then Henderson for that position.
Written by FPL Wolf (@FPLWolf)
