Liverpool FC: Looking Ahead to a Demanding Season for the Premier League Champions
Liverpool will begin 2025/26 season with a familiar core of players interspersed with several new signings and a head coach entering his second year in charge.
Fresh from winning the Premier League title at his first attempt, Arne Slot has begun to put his own stamp on the squad that he inherited from Jurgen Klopp just over a year ago.
Aside from the tragic death of Diogo Jota in July, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah and Luis Diaz have all left for pastures new.
In their places have some several exciting new additions such as Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili, with these arrivals bound to give the head coach some pleasant selection headaches over the course of the season!
In pre-season forums and among fan predictions, supporters have already started sharing lucky numbers tied to new players and projected lineups.
In addition to those arrivals, several academy players may hope to make their mark on the first-team squad, most notably Rio Ngumoha but also Ben Doak, Trey Nyoni and Luca Stephenson, all of whom could be handed senior minutes in domestic cup competitions and possibly Champions League games of little or no consequence, should Liverpool again seal a direct last-16 passage with games to spare.
Key Areas of Improvement for Liverpool
Slot has made it clear from his comments in pre-season that he’s looking for improvement on several factors once the competitive action begins. Among the main priorities are:
- Reducing susceptibility to counterattacks
- Reduced injury risks through smarter rotation
- Improved concentration in defending set pieces
- Starting games more quickly and conceding the first goal less often
Recent training sessions will surely have focused on these points, and it’s crucial that Liverpool address these issues from the start, especially with the high number of matches they’re expected to play this season.
Crucial Liverpool fixtures
Liverpool’s first nine matches include fixtures against Newcastle, Arsenal, Everton, Manchester United and Chelsea. These games will test the squad early and give a sense of how the Reds will cope with the added pressure of being defending champions.
Some crucial matches in the first three months of the season include:
- Newcastle away on 25 August
- Arsenal at Anfield in the third game of the season
- A home match against Everton in September
- A visit to Stamford Bridge in early October
- Manchester United at Anfield just after the October international break
Current Squad Outlook
Liverpool have an imperious squad overall, albeit one which fans might justifiably fear is imbalanced.
Goalkeeping and left-back options are plentiful, and the Reds also appear very well-stocked in midfield, but the same definitely can’t be said for centre-backs and centre-forwards.
Slot currently has just three natural senior central defenders and, once Darwin Nunez’s transfer to Al-Hilal is confirmed, only one readymade first-team striker in summer signing Hugo Ekitike.
Those two positions in particular need to be addressed with added depth before the transfer window shuts.
Fans and Online Activity
Liverpool supporters continue to engage actively online, especially through fantasy leagues, predictions and match threads. One common pattern is the use of lucky numbers when guessing scorelines or goal times. Fans often choose numbers which relate to past players or famous moments. Examples include 7, 8, 9, or 23 — numbers which hold meaning in the club’s history.
On platforms like Reddit or X, users sometimes include lucky numbers in their match posts. For example, someone might say “3-1, Salah 11’, lucky number 7 today.” While this doesn’t affect the match itself, it reflects how fans connect with the club in small but personal ways.
In some private leagues, people even name their fantasy teams after these lucky numbers. It’s a trend which isn’t official but appears often in fan circles. The idea has spread into Discord groups, WhatsApp chats and live watch-alongs.
A few prediction sites even allow users to pre-set their “lucky number” and track its appearance across the season. Although it’s mainly for fun, some supporters do take it seriously!
What Are Liverpool’s Expectations For This Season?
For Liverpool, the goal this season is theoretically very simple – win back-to-back Premier League titles and progress to the business end of the Champions League, along with hopefully a domestic cup or two.
Securing a top-four finish may have been acceptable 12 months ago, but not now that the Reds are defending champions and the scalp that everyone will want to take in 2025/26. Now that they’re at the top, they’ll be hell-bent on staying there.
Slot has shown a tactical flexibility within games and a proactive approach to substitutions, something which has helped to catch opposition teams off-guard and change games in Liverpool’s favour.
Supporters will be watching the new season with interest. Whether through pre-match rituals, line-up predictions, or lucky numbers, the fans will remain deeply involved. The team’s performance will decide the outcome, but as always, the community will play its part from the outside.
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