The 2023-24 Premier League season is here and there are plenty of talking points as we look ahead to the next nine months of action. The most obvious one is the fact that Manchester City are aiming to become the first team in history to win the English top flight for four years in succession, and Pep Guardiola’s swashbuckling side are going to be incredibly hard to stop.
But while Man City’s stranglehold on the Premier League title is set to continue, we could see a very competitive race for the top four. Community Shield winners Arsenal look like the likeliest side to finish second to the Sky Blues for the second season in a row, and Manchester United and Liverpool are fancied to make up the rest of the Champions League spots in the EPL top 4 odds.
However, Chelsea, Newcastle United and even Tottenham Hotspur could also find themselves in contention for one of the lucrative positions. That means if Man City and Arsenal are to pull away again like they did last season, up to five teams could be fighting over the final two Champions League spots and there will be no room for error.
That’s why it’s somewhat surprising to see Liverpool so heavily backed by the bookmakers for a place in the top four. Indeed, given the strength of their squad and the Reds’ rise to prominence under Jurgen Klopp, the bookies aren’t willing to take any chances. But should Liverpool really be the third favourites for a Champions League spot behind Man City and Arsenal?
It’s hard to overlook Liverpool’s performances last season and just make the assumption that they are guaranteed to bounce back. They ended the campaign well with an unbeaten run, which at one stage made it look like they were going to catch Newcastle in fourth, but two draws to end the season resulted in them faring no better than fifth and ultimately having to settle for Europa League football.
The Reds’ midfield was the main area of concern, with Saudi-bound duo Jordan Henderson and Fabinho looking well past their best last season. It has been rejuvenated this summer by the arrivals of World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and Hove Albion and Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.
However, Liverpool haven’t completed all of the business they would have liked by this stage as they are still in desperate need of a more defensive-minded player in the middle of the park — like key target Romeo Lavia, but they appear no closer to coming to an agreement with Southampton for the promising youngster as, at the time of writing, a third bid of around £46m has just been rejected.
There’s also an argument that the teams around them have strengthened. Arsenal have spent over £200m on Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice this summer and there’s potentially more spending to come as they look to spoil Man City’s party, while the Erik ten Hag revolution has continued at Old Trafford with Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund coming in.
Newcastle, who many are predicting to struggle now Champions League football has been added to their schedule, have notably brought in Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento to help bolster their ranks and Chelsea have been as busy as ever. The Blues have brought in seven players (with more expected) as they aim to avoid a repeat of last season and compete for European football again.
Only time will tell if Liverpool have put last season’s poor form behind them and if they have done enough to ensure they can keep up with their rivals, but there are still plenty of reasons to be reserved about their chances as we head into the new season.
