Back
Steffen Schmidt - August 1, 2025
Liverpool enter the season as the defending champions of England following a marvellous campaign in Arne Slot’s inaugural year in charge.
The pressure will mount on the Reds to repeat last year’s accolades, but the task will be anything but easy.
With most of their rivals bolstering their squads during the summer, the 2025/26 Premier League season could bring us the most thrilling title battle in the last decade.
Liverpool barely secured Champions League football two years ago and Jurgen Klopp’s departure caused fear among their fans.
Nevertheless, former Ajax boss Arne Slot went on to take the Reds to their record-tying 20th Premier League title in his maiden year at the Anfield.
The Dutch manager has thus become only the seventh manager to win the Premier League in his debut season. He has done it in some fashion, ending the domestic campaign 10 points clear off Arsenal in second place.
Mohamed Salah set a new Premier League record with 47 goal contributions in an unforgettable campaign.
Liverpool won the Premier League title by 10 points last year and went on to complete a record signing. The Reds thus showed clear intention to chase the back-to-back domestic crowns, a feat they haven’t done since 1983.
Florian Wirtz (£116 million): Elite German playmaker arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in a record-breaking transfer for Liverpool. Wirtz is one of the most exciting and technically talented players in the world and his arrival will instil a new form of creativity into an already lethal attacking line.
Jeremie Frimpong (£29 million): The Reds have lost a huge amount of creativity with Trent’s departure but Jeremie Frimpong might represent an ideal replacement at right-back. The Dutchman is another very attacking full-back who has enjoyed several high-profile campaigns for Bayer Leverkusen.
Milos Kerkez (£40 million): Slot strengthened his defence on the opposite end as well with the signing of Bournemouth’s left-back Milos Kerkez. The Hungarian youngster brings energy and quality on both ends of the pitch.
Among the departures, one catches the eye specifically. Trent Alexander Arnold spent 18 years at Liverpool, 10 of which as a first-team regular. He decided to make a move to Real Madrid during the second half of the last season.
His departure marks an end of an era. The fact that he left the Anfield with more than 75 assists in Liverpool’s shirt as a right-back speaks volumes. It will be very interesting to see how Liverpool will adjust to life without Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Reds did bring an adequate replacement in Frimpong while Florian Wirtz will take further compensate in the creativity department.
Slot will not be able to count on Diogo Jota either following the tragic car accident that took away his life just as the Portuguese star was on his way to join Liverpool’s training camp this summer. Jota was a reliable big-game player known for his versatility and an incredible sense for goal.
Arne Slot led Liverpool to the Premier League title with his high pressing and dynamic system with bountiful in-game shapes.
We can say that the Dutchman has transformed Klopp’s heavy metal football into a more balanced rhythm while keeping the basis of the German’s philosophy at the same time.
Only Arsenal conceded fewer goals than Liverpool last season, meaning the stern back line should remain the key to the team’s success this year as well.
It will be very interesting to see the Salah-Wirtz partnership up front as well as the contributions of the new full-backs on both ends of the pitch.
This group of players have to be considered contenders in every single competition they compete in. Just imagine, you have the team that won the Premier League by 10 points improved by one of the most exciting prospects in world football.
That being said, the pressure will be sky-high for Arne Slot and his troops and most rivals will also be significantly stronger than last year.
Liverpool have not won back-to-back Premier League trophies since 1983. They will have to dig deep to do it this time around.
There is no reason to change the winning formula which is why we don’t expect Arne Slot to deviate much from his well-known 4-2-3-1 structure this year.
With everyone healthy, here is a look at Liverpool’s best starting lineup for the 2025/26 season:
Alisson – Frimpong, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez – Gravenberch, Mac Allister – Salah, Wirtz, Diaz – Gakpo.
This is a very strong starting XI while Slot has several high-profile players on the bench, including the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Harvey Elliott, Conor Bradley, Andy Robertson, etc.
Expectedly, Liverpool are the main title candidates ahead of the 2025/26 season. Most bookmakers have them at 3.00 odds to lift the trophy for the second year running.
However, we must remember that the Reds have never won back-to-back titles during the Premier League era (since 1992). Also, they will be without Mohamed Salah for six games potentially if Egypt reach the AFCON final in January 2026. There are much better betting options elsewhere.
One such pops up in the player assists market. Florian Wirtz ended last season with 10 goals and 12 assists in 31 Bundesliga appearances. He will team up with some of the best scorers on the planet at the Anfield, including last year’s Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah.
Although 15 seems a big high, the 5.00 odds offered for the German maestro to deliver 15 or more assists in his maiden Premier League season for Liverpool is the value we are very much willing to go for.
You could also shoot for Mohamed Salah to repeat last year’s accolades following a 29-goal season but he could skip six games during the African Cup of Nations. This is why we will not back the Egyptian King to win record-breaking fifth Golden Boot reward.
Liverpool’s fans have all the right to dream big and hope for the best ahead of the season but the Reds will have to dig deep to repeat last year’s domestic success. We can’t wait to see Wirtz’s magic on English soil. Will it be enough for trophies though?
