Liverpool season preview 2024-25: Mohamed Salah to challenge for the Golden Boot but Arne Slot faces a tough fight to salvage Darwin Nunez's Anfield career

The fans are experiencing seriously mixed emotions ahead of Saturday's Premier League opener at Ipswich. On the one hand, Slot's Liverpool have performed very well in pre-season and there is already enough evidence to suggest that the new coach's ideas are taking root at Anfield.

It would be wrong to suggest that things had gone stale after nine years of Klopp's thrilling but mentally and physically draining 'Heavy Metal' football, but it's clear from what we've seen so far that the change in leadership could prove a positive. At the very least, Slot's tactical tweaks seem to have gone over well with the players.

Unfortunately, while Slot has made an instantaneous impact at Anfield, new sporting Richard Hughes has not. Less than 48 hours before the start of the new season, Liverpool remain the only team in the Premier League yet to make a single summer signing - a staggering state of affairs for such an ambitious club with a new manager at the helm.

Perhaps even more concerningly, key trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all entered the final year of their respective contracts.

Very little to speak of. There have only been outgoings at Anfield this summer, with Fabio Carvalho the most significant sale, having been bought by Brentford for £27.5 million ($35m) - a fine fee for a player that never really looked like making the grade at Liverpool.

However, it's also worth remembering that both Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip left when their contracts expired at the end of last season, which only makes it all the more worrying that the first-team squad is still awaiting reinforcement.

The hope was that Martin Zubimendi could be convinced to join from Real Sociedad, to belatedly bring an end to Liverpool's long search for a specialist No.6, but after telling Hughes that he was willing to move to Anfield, the Spain international ended up staying in San Sebastian after coming under intense pressure from his Basque employers to remain loyal to his hometown club. According to reports, there is no Plan B, meaning Liverpool are set to start the season without a world-class defensive midfielder, meaning the hope is that Ryan Gravenberch can grow into the role, most likely alongside the multi-talented Alexis Mac Allister.

A deal to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili does seem to be moving in the right direction, though if that does go through, the Georgia international is expected to be loaned straight out, potentially to Bournemouth, before returning to Anfield down the line to replace Alisson Becker - which only serves to underline that this is hardly an area that urgently needs addressing, with the Brazilian's brilliant understudy, Caoimhin Kelleher, still at Anfield.

Liverpool's pre-season programme was bookended by games behind closed doors - and they won neither, losing 1-0 to Preston North End at Kirkby before drawing 0-0 with Las Palmas at an empty Anfield.

However, in between, Slot's side were mightily impressive. Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Real Betis, while Mohamed Salah and Carvalho were both on target in the 2-1 defeat of Arsenal. Carvalho struck again in 3-0 rout of Manchester United that also featured strikes from Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas, as the Reds made it three wins from three on their United States tour.

Then, in their first outing at Anfield under Slot, the Reds hammered Sevilla 4-1, with Luis Diaz scoring twice and Diogo Jota and Trey Nyoni scoring one goal apiece. A number of key men only featured for the first time on Sunday, meaning they might not be in optimal condition for Saturday's Premier League opener at Ipswich, but that was to be expected given how many players Liverpool had involved in Euro 2024 and Copa America.

So, all things considered, pre-season couldn't have gone much better for Slot. The results were encouraging, the performances even more so.

Liverpool chose Slot to replace Klopp at the helm because they felt the Dutchman's style of play was quite similar to his predecessor's, with the hope being that the common ground would facilitate a rather smooth tactical transition for the players. The early signs are certainly promising, with Liverpool scoring some brilliant breakaway goals in pre-season that could be termed 'classic Klopp'.

However, there have been noticeable changes. For starters, while Slot has argued people shouldn't get too caught up in trying to work out his preferred formation, it really does look like Liverpool are going to play a 4-2-3-1, featuring a double pivot in front of the back four and a No.10 tucked in behind the main striker.

Despite the devastating Zubimendi setback, Liverpool do not lack options in the middle of the park but, right now, it appears as if Slot has decided that Gravenberch would be best deployed in a deeper role, especially as Wataru Endo was one of the few players to struggle in pre-season and Stefan Bajetic is taking time to find his feet again after his incessant injury issues.

As for the likely No.10, Dominik Szoboszlai will be a strong contender if he can replicate the form he showed during the first half of last season, but the rapidly improving Harvey Elliott looked ideally suited to playing as an attacking midfielder during an eye-catching pre-season campaign.

In defence, Jarell Quansah seems to be ahead of Ibrahima Konate in the battle to start alongside Van Dijk, while Jota is unquestionably leading the race to start up front ahead of Darwin Nunez. The Portuguese just needs to stay fit...

Whoever plays, though, it's clear that after the intensity of the Klopp era, Liverpool will focus on retaining possession and play with far more patience under Slot, who has heard urging his new team to kill opponents with passes during pre-season.

Van Dijk obviously has a vital role to play, particularly as Liverpool's defence fell apart during the business end of last season. The hope was that a new centre-half would be brought in during the summer to strengthen the backline, but that hasn't happened, meaning the onus is once again on the captain to hold things together. The challenge for him is proving that he's still up to the task at 33 years of age - and with doubts surrounding his future at the club.

Mac Allister will also be integral to the efficacy of the engine room, no matter where he plays. The Argentine was immense in his first season at Anfield and more of the same will be required, especially if no new No.6 arrives before deadline day.

However, there's no getting away from the fact that Liverpool's hopes of success hinge on Salah. The team's undisputed talisman, he suffered a relatively dramatic dip in form as he struggled to shake off the effects of an injury suffered during the Africa Cup of Nations, and that was a major problem for Liverpool, given he's the one forward in the squad that can usually always be relied on to both stay fit and score goals.

The good news is that Salah looked seriously sharp again in pre-season. If he's back to his brilliant best, anything really is possible for Liverpool. When he's on his game, there is no better right winger in world football.

One of the big positives of Liverpool's 2023-24 campaign is that so many youngsters took full advantage of the opportunities offered to them by Klopp, so who will be this season's Quansah or Conor Bradley?

As we saw during last season's cup runs, Liverpool do not lack talent at under-age level but, based on pre-season, the smart money is on Trey Nyoni. The midfielder has only just turned 17 and, unsurprisingly, doesn't look physically ready for the rigours of Premier League football. But the technique and temperament are most certainly there.

The England Under-18 international capped a promising pre-season with a wonderfully well-taken goal in the win over Sevilla on Sunday, so expect Nyoni to see plenty of minutes in cup games this term.

Liverpool fans are obviously praying for a surprise title triumph, but it would be too much to ask from a new manager inheriting a squad that hasn't been strengthened since finishing third last season.

Obviously, if perennial Manchester City were to be relegated or hit with a massive points deduction, that would change things but, truth be told, even finishing above Arsenal will be tough for the Reds, given the Gunners' superior strength in depth.

Success for Liverpool, then, would be more of the same: Champions League qualification coupled with a trophy (either the Carabao Cup or FA Cup). If Slot were to achieve that twin-objective in his first season at the helm, while at the same time evolving the team's style of play, hopes would seriously rise over what he might achieve in the future with greater backing in the transfer market.

Player of the Season: Mohamed Salah- The Egyptian scored 25 goals during an injury-hit season; he'll be back challenging for the Golden Boot this year.

Biggest disappointment: Darwin Nunez- We hope we're wrong as the Uruguayan is a cult hero at Anfield, but he's not looked at all happy in a Liverpool shirt since the tail end of last season and he could end up being sold next summer unless Slot works the same magic with the striker as he did with Santiago Gimenez at Feyenoord.

Best signing: Sadly not applicable to Liverpool as it stands!

Top scorer: Mohamed Salah - Only a fully-fit Jota could come close to matching the winger's incredible productivity, though we are expecting more goals from both Diaz and Cody Gakpo this season.

European fate: Champions League quarter-finals - Liverpool will enjoy a fine run before almost inevitably being eliminated by Real Madrid, with Jude Bellingham probably proving decisive to really rub salt into their wounds!

League position: 3rd- Liverpool remain a cut above every other side bar last season's top two.