A new era beckons Liverpool when they face Ipswich Town at Portman Road in their first Premier League game of the season on Saturday.
After 9 years in charge, Jurgen Klopp left the club last May and the Reds went and appointed Arne Slot to take over as the head coach.
It’s a completely new regime, albeit with some familiar faces off the pitch. Things off the pitch haven’t exactly been smooth sailing, even though Slot has managed to instill a bit of his philosophy already in the squad.
The Reds missed out on Martin Zubimendi even though they were willing to pay his release clause of £51million. The Spaniard isn’t so keen on moving, so Slot will have to make do with what he’s got for now.
Arne 👋🔴 pic.twitter.com/JBIeFbagLs
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 15, 2024
The Dutchman has plenty of options up his sleeve as Klopp left the club in a better situation than when he joined back in 2015.
Wins over Arsenal and Manchester United would suggest Liverpool had a good pre-season and are in the ideal shape to take on the newly promoted Ipswich Town. However, pre-season form rarely indicates how a team can do when the season starts.
Liverpool Team News
Slot has no injury issues hampering the squad. The only problem is that some of his players, like Alexis Mac Allister and Andy Robertson, have had limited pre-season games with the rest of the squad and may not be at their fittest yet.
Slot got plenty of time to see which players fit the bill. The key area is undoubtedly going to be the midfield as the Dutchman employs a double pivot while playing out from the back.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Ipswich Town
Goalkeeper and defence
Alisson Becker is one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, if not the best. The Brazilian is expected to start in goal.
Jarell Quansah and Virgil van Dijk could start at the heart of defence. Andy Robertson is not quite fit enough to play a full 90-minute game, so we may see Kostas Tsimikas feature at left-back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to play at right-back. His creativity was key in the Klopp era, and it’ll be interesting to see how his role evolves under Slot.
Midfield
Wataru Endo got opportunities in pre-season, but the Japanese international failed to convince while under pressure and when he received the ball from the defenders and the goalkeeper.
Ryan Gravenberch, on the other hand, was impressive as the Dutchman is a more skillful player and better at outmaneuvering an opposition press.
Gravenberch is likely to start alongside Alexis Mac Allister in the pivot. Slot has Curtis Jones as another option, and the Englishman did see more pre-season game time than Mac Allister who arrived late thanks to his exploits with the Argentine national team in the Copa America.
We think Mac Allister will get the nod and make the Liverpool lineup.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Ipswich Town
Up ahead, it will be a toss-up between Dominic Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliot. While Elliot was impressive in pre-season, Szoboszlai is perhaps the more natural option in that role given his abilities. However, we might see Slot going with Elliot for this one given what the 21-year-old offers off the ball.
Attack
Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz are expected to take up the flanks, and Diogo Jota could feature as the striker in the Liverpool lineup.
The Portuguese had too many injury woes last season but looks like a player rejuvenated ahead of the new campaign. Darwin Nunez is an option from the bench.