Inspired by Mohamed Salah, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side excited in the Premier League last season, while they reached a Champions League final only to suffer heartbreak.
Ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, we caught up with fan site Rousing The Kop to get the low-down on progress made on and off the pitch…
What do you make of your club’s pre-season preparations, both on and off the pitch?
As far as training is concerned, Jurgen Klopp’s pre-season is quite intense.
I tend to think the squad will be going into the new season fitter than most other sides just because of how much running they have to do in games and during training.
In the last week they have done triple sessions, around three times, so the players who have been there for around a month already will be very fit by the time the season starts.
As far as off the pitch goes, with signings and players leaving, Liverpool definitely have a much stronger side with Naby Keita, Fabinho in the middle and Alisson Becker at the back.
Then, Xherdan Shaqiri is a good player to come off the bench, or even replace Mohamed Salah or Saido Mane when either of the duo get injured or suspended.
Which of your club’s summer signing has you most excited about the new campaign?
Although Keita is probably the most talented of them all, and will do the most work, Alisson is undoubtedly the player the club needed the most.
We haven’t had a top goalkeeper since Pepe Reina, and that goes back a good eight years ago.
Just from what I’ve seen of the Brazilian, he looks massive. He is a full two inches taller than Loris Karius, so you can’t go wrong there.
Who’s your club’s young-player-who-could-make-a-breakthrough this season?
I’m not sure if he’ll make a breakthrough, considering he is only 17 years of age, but Curtis Jones looks very impressive.
It helps that he is a scouser as well, which is never a bad thing when you’re at Liverpool. I definitely think he could be one to watch if he makes a few appearances in the domestic cup competitions.
He seems to fit in really well with the group and that help him massively as a youngster trying to break into the first team reckoning.
What will be your club’s biggest factor behind achieving its targets this season?
It’s the same as last season, with the club getting to the Champions League final – the tight knit nature of the squad.
There is good morale and there doesn’t appear to be any problems between any of the players within the team.
When you have that, you want to play for your teammates even more. You want everyone to succeed.
When you are challenging at the top end, you need that level of team spirit and togetherness.
What will be your club’s biggest barrier to achieving its targets this season?
I think it could be a mental block, to be honest, given Liverpool haven’t won any major silverware for over a decade.
There is a lot said about Jurgen Klopp having failed in 13 finals and that could play a part, but at the same time I can’t see the squad being held back this season.
I definitely think the club will win something this time round, whether it’s the League Cup, FA Cup or Premier League.
Which club outside yours do you think has done the best business this summer?
Arsenal, or even Wolves and Fulham.
I’ve been very impressed in the way they’ve gone about their business, quietly signing relatively big players.
For Wolves, keeping Ruben Neves is huge, given reports linking him with Liverpool and Manchester United.
All three clubs have improved on what they previously had, and done so in better fashion than most other sides.
If you had to pick a six-a-side team from your club’s current squad, who would be in it?
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Finally, how do you think your team will have done come the end of the 2018/19 season?
I think Liverpool can win the Premier League but it will come at a cost to every other competition they are in.
The strength of the squad is definitely not as strong as Manchester City, which could have won the treble last season if it hadn’t been for Liverpool halting their progress in Europe.
Realistically, I can see this squad coming second in the league, while winning either the FA Cup or League Cup and reaching the knock-out stages in the Champions League.