Football Season Guide

Despite departures of experienced first-choice players such as Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino, Liverpool were part of a three-horse title battle through until April – just a few weeks after Jurgen Klopp announced his departure from the club. Fatigue and injuries paid their toll on the Reds, who recoded just four losses and finished third. Arne Slot has taken over from Klopp and requested time to evaluate the current squad. A few backup players departed the club, with Fábio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg returning from loan – both are expected to be in the roster for next season. In Slot, Liverpool are confident that they have found a man who will follow the club’s philosophy. The already established 4-3-3 formation will be there next season too, but he may also shift to 4-2-3-1, where his two deeper midfielders will operate close to the central defenders during the build-up to bounce passes around the opposition press. The fact that Liverpool have kept their backbone intact is their main strength ahead of next season. Slot will manage a mix of experienced veterans and prodigious talents, who have already participated in at least one title race. Yet, they will need to improve at the back in order to compete for the title, as the Reds averaged more than one goal conceded per game last season.