Rush The Kop
Fansided

Liverpool Season Preview: Strong attack, leaky defense and no depth

By Joseph Copeland

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - AUGUST 02: Virgil van Dijk #4 (R) of Liverpool celebrates with Dominik Szoboszlai #8 (L) and Andy Robertson #26 after scoring their second goal off a header against Bayern Munich during the first half of the pre-season friendly at the National Stadium on August 02, 2023 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - AUGUST 02: Virgil van Dijk #4 (R) of Liverpool celebrates with Dominik Szoboszlai #8 (L) and Andy Robertson #26 after scoring their second goal off a header against Bayern Munich during the first half of the pre-season friendly at the National Stadium on August 02, 2023 in Singapore. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next

Squad Depth? What’s that?

The Reds saw an exodus of at least 7 first team players from last season. 2 new faces have been brought in to off-set that in the form of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

While those two guys are going to be crucial to Liverpool’s success this season, they can only do so much. The 32-year old Thiago comes into the final season of his contract already battling fitness.

If he’s healthy, he brings a dynamic passing dimension that few others can. Unfortunately, Klopp will not have massive rotation options to keep him upright.

Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Stefan Bajcetic will probably be the most utilized midfielders off the bench on a weekly basis. With the lack of a true No. 6 right now, Jones is in contention to start on opening day and beyond.

However, the lack of high-end depth in the middle of the park is still a better spot than the defense. The names behind the starting four are an aging Joel Matip and the underachieving Joe Gomez.

That’s it. Conor Bradley, coming off a strong loan spell, could see time but asking him to step in as a key piece in the defense might be too much right now.

If Virgil, Konate, Andy Robertson or Trent Alexander-Arnold get a long-term injury, that could prove disastrous.

If Liverpool can stay healthy, their Starting XI can compete with almost anyone. If they don’t stay off the medical table, things could spiral quickly.