A year after surrendering their Premier League title with a disappointing fifth-place finish, Liverpool are starting again.
Arne Slot has gone, Mohamed Salah has left and Andoni Iraola is now tasked with rebuilding a side that suddenly looks rather different to the one that lifted the title just two years ago.
With plenty still to do in the transfer market, can Liverpool return to the title picture? ESPN makes its predictions for the 2026-27 season.
- From Arsenal to Hull, where all 20 teams will finish
- Why every fan should be optimistic, pessimistic about their team's season
- PL manager changes: Alonso, Iraola, more - and their biggest challenges
Top scorer
Injury, a lack of preseason and a tumultuous atmosphere at Liverpool prevented Alexander Isak from ever really getting started at his new club last season, but it is difficult to see anyone else scoring more than him this time around.
Mohamed Salah has departed, while last season's top scorer Hugo Ekitike is still "way off" a return to full fitness after rupturing his Achilles' tendon in April.
Barring the addition of another serious goal threat, or another injury, Isak should be able to record a season that is at least a little closer to the stellar goalscoring numbers he managed while at Newcastle.
Breakout player
Following Rio Ngumoha's impressive breakout season in 2025-26, many Liverpool fans expect his friend Trey Nyoni to be the next cab off the rank.
The former Leicester academy player joined Liverpool in 2023 and made his Premier League debut last season, but could be set for more minutes if the likes of Alexis Mac Allister are unable to rediscover their form of yesteryear. The 19-year-old, who looks comfortable on the ball and capable of playing incisive, line-breaking passes, has impressed in preseason so far.
Who is it a make or break season for?
Twelve months ago, it appeared as though Harvey Elliott's Liverpool career had already come to an end -- few envisioned that he would not make 10 appearances for Unai Emery's side and thereby not trigger the clause which would have seen him sign permanently for £35 million ($47m).
Elliott now returns to Liverpool on the back of the most difficult season of his career. Nonetheless, he may yet benefit from the arrival of Iraola, who looks set to play with an out-and-out No. 10, a position that could suit Elliott's skillset. Still only 23 years old, Elliott is probably also the closest thing this Liverpool squad has to a right winger.
Produce some good performances early in the season and he could earn an unlikely extension to his time on Merseyside. Fail to do so, and he will almost certainly leave for free when his contract expires next summer.
What would be a success?
After scraping into the Champions League spots in fifth place last season, Liverpool will look to return to competing with Arsenal and Manchester City at the top of the table.
Under a new manager and having parted ways with one of the club's best ever players, there will of course be some element of transition to this season -- a league title win, for instance, looks unlikely. But a third-place finish, combined with the attractive football many fans thought was missing last year, would have Liverpool in good shape.
Biggest concern?
Put simply, Liverpool just do not have enough players. Arne Slot's squad already looked stretched last season, and the club have now lost Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté. The additions of Jérémy Jacquet and Víctor Muñoz are a start, but it is no exaggeration to say that Liverpool may well need to sign four more players before they can consider letting anyone else go.
A right-winger, a versatile attacker, a centre-back and a right-back would all strengthen the squad, and fans are wary of repeating the mistakes of last summer, when the club missed out on Marc Guéhi and only secured Isak's signing on deadline day.
Prediction
Liverpool are unlikely to catch Arsenal and Manchester City this season, but a good window should see them make the Champions League places this season.
They may have their work cut out to finish above all of Aston Villa, free-spending Chelsea and a resurgent Manchester United, but fourth place is a decent bet.
Perhaps Iraola's biggest test will come in the Champions League -- the Spaniard has never managed in a European cup competition.