How we think the Merseysiders will get on over the next 12 months.
Last season was a real return to form for Liverpool, who eventually finished second in the Premier League behind Manchester City and came so close to winning their first league title since 1990.
The next 12 months will be a real test for manager Brendan Rodgers to see if he can emulate that success, especially after the £75m sale of Luis Suarez to FC Barcelona.
Here CaughtOffside analyses the upcoming 2014/15 campaign for the Reds.
Pre-season results:
Brondby 2-1 Liverpool (Kristoffer Peterson).
Preston North End 1-2 Liverpool (Suso, Peterson).
AS Roma 1-0 Liverpool.
Liverpool 1-0 Olympiakos (Raheem Sterling).
Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool – Liverpool won on penalties (Jordan Henderson, Sterling).
AC Milan 0-2 Liverpool (Joe Allen, Suso).
Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool (Steven Gerrard).
Liverpool 4-0 Borussia Dortmund (Daniel Sturridge, Dejan Lovren, Philippe Coutinho, Henderson).
Transfers in:
Rickie Lambert, Southampton – £4m.
Adam Lallana, Southampton – £25m.
Emre Can, Bayer Leverkusen – £10m.
Lazar Markovic, Benfica – £20m)
Dejan Lovren, Southampton – £20m.
Divock Origi, Lille – £10m.
Javier Manquillo, Atletico Madrid – Loan.
Transfers out:
Luis Alberto, Malaga – Loan.
Michael Ngoo – Released.
Stephen Sama – Released.
Iago Aspas, Sevilla – Loan.
Andre Wisdom, West Bromwich Albion – Loan.
Divock Origi, Lille – Loan.
Conor Coady, Huddersfield Town – Undisclosed.
Brad Smith, Swindon Town – Loan.
Pepe Reina, Bayern Munich – Undisclosed.
Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona – £75m.
Main strength:
It has to be Rodgers’ core of English talent, which bar captain Gerrard has been developed to great effect by the Northern Irishman and it will be who he is looking towards for inspiration over the next 12 months.
Henderson, Sterling and Sturridge will all play a key part in any success the Merseysiders may have and the club are doing more than most for the future success of the national team.
Biggest weakness:
It still has to be the defence, which last term cost them the title essentially by being constantly leaky, although the £20m summer acquisition of Lovren should go some way to shoring things up.
However, the full-back positions still remain an issue, with Glen Johnson increasingly unreliable, Jose Enrique having been injured for some time and Manquillo and Jon Flanagan yet to really prove themselves.
Key player:
Daniel Sturridge
Following the departure of Suarez a lot of pressure will fall on this 24-year-old’s shoulders, with the England international expected to be the main source of goals now.
Not that Sturridge is out of touch, with the striker’s 21 league strikes last season second only to his Uruguayan teammate and he just needs to retain his confidence.
One to watch:
Jordon Ibe
Much is expected of this 18-year-old whom Rodgers has given plenty of chances to in pre-season and although it was fellow teenager Peterson bagging the goals, Ibe is considered to be the standout talent.
The winger need look no further than Sterling for inspiration, who at only 12 months older has proven that the youth system at Anfield works and hard work will be rewarded.
Targets:
Having finished second last time out the more optimistic would say that winning the league is the next natural step, but with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all having improved over the summer and Manchester City as strong as ever this could be difficult.
Last campaign most supporters would have taken Champions League qualification and with a transition phase involving lots of new players currently being undertaken, the same should be a realistic target.
Predicted finish:
5th
Although we don’t expect the Reds to do a Tottenham Hotspur and somewhat implode following the sale of their best player to La Liga, continuing their form without Suarez will be extremely tough.
As mentioned lots of the other clubs around them have improved and whilst we think Rodgers’ men will run the Red Devils close for fourth place, they will just miss out.
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