Jürgen Klopp will lead his Liverpool when they take on Arsenal in the first game of the new Premier League season. The manager had his team play up to 9 pre-season games and will now finally enter the new season with a massive game on Sunday. The German has made plenty of changes to the squad and has shown the fans a completely different Liverpool side from the last season in the pre-season that has left the Liverpool fans with a bit of excitement but a lot more of confusion ahead of the next season.
These are surely exciting times at Anfield but the fans of the club are still not sure how strong their club has grown in the offseason. So here are 3 questions that the Reds will be searching answers for ahead of their first game of the campaign against Arsenal.
Who should lead the side against top class opponents?
Liverpool are not entertaining European football having failed to qualify for it after their loss to Sevilla. So the manager would want to settle into a strong squad for most of the next season and will want his team to have a settled look ahead of crunch times next season. The club now has the likes of Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi, Christian Benteke, Mario Balotelli and Danny Ings as options to lead the side and the manager will have to make a decision as to who he should use for this game against Arsenal.
Benteke and Balotelli may have no future at the club while Ings is not expected to start but it will be interesting to see if Klopp goes with a false 9 in Firmino or the pace of Origi (Sturridge, as you can imagine, is not available for this game due to injury). Both players provide their own threats and whoever is given the chance in this game might be the first choice striker for Liverpool next season.
Has Alberto Moreno learnt anything?
The Spaniard, who moved to Liverpool a couple of seasons ago, has been erratic at best in his left back spot. He has not been able to provide the sense of calm that is needed for the club at the back and for all his offensive contributions, Moreno has remained a liability for the club in most games. The manager was expected to bring in a new left-back to the club this summer but he could not get his hands on any of the transfer targets in the transfer window and is left with Moreno as the only senior left-back in the squad.
James Milner was supposedly Klopp’s answer to the problem but with the England international now injured for this game, Liverpool are stuck with Moreno for the game at the Emirates on Sunday. The Spaniard hardly showed any signs of improvement in the pre-season and the fans will be waiting to see if he has learnt anything from his previous mistakes and whether he is the right man for Liverpool going into an exciting season.
Who will partner Dejan Lovren against Arsenal?
It has been an interesting turn of event for Dejan Lovren, who was tipped off as Liverpool’s worst defenders at the end of the 2014-15 Premier League season. The former Southampton man has looked a completely new player under Jürgen Klopp and was one of the most consistent players for the club at the end of last season. He was partnered by Mamadou Sakho last season but Klopp has brought in Joel Matip who is expected to take a place in the starting XI next season. The former Schalke man was not able to have the best pre-season under his belt having picked up some injuries leaving the manager with Ragnar Klavan as the only other centre-back who has settled into the squad.
The 31-year old Augsburg man was solid in his outings in the pre-season and may take his place alongside Lovren against Arsenal but Matip is expected to make it into the team if he is fit enough. Even with just a day left for the game, the Liverpool fans are not yet sure who their centre-back pairing will be and they will be hoping that the Arsenal game will give them a clue as to how their season might be up ahead.
