Liverpool's Title Hopes: From Favorites to Question Marks
Liverpool, the great Premier League constant, have suddenly become a question mark.
Last season, 22 of 35 BBC pundits tipped them to win the title. Only three thought they would finish below second. The consensus was clear: Jürgen Klopp’s side were supposed to go all the way.
This year, the mood has shifted. Of 28 predictors, only four see Liverpool finishing higher than third. The rest expect a step back, or at least a stutter, as the club enters the Andoni Iraola era and stares down life after Mohamed Salah.
From title favourites to chasing pack
The numbers tell the story. Liverpool were once the default pick for champions. Now they are being shuffled behind Manchester City and others in most pre-season forecasts, with doubts swirling around how quickly Iraola can impose his style and how effectively the squad has been reshaped.
Thomas Hitzlsperger, though, is not ready to write them off.
“I've gone for them to finish second because I really like the way Iraola's teams play,” he says, backing the new manager’s aggressive, front-foot approach. There is a personal angle too. “Also, I am kind of biased here because I am really hoping Wirtz has the season now that people expected him to have last year.”
That optimism stands out in a field that has cooled on Liverpool’s title credentials.
Time, transition and the Salah question
Danny Murphy places Liverpool third and sounds a note of caution.
“Liverpool might need a bit more time before they are challenging for the title again,” he argues, pointing straight at the uncertainty around Salah’s succession. The club have brought in Victor Munoz and could hand a bigger role to Rio Ngumoha, but Murphy is not convinced that is the end of the story.
“I am also not sure whether they think they have already got enough to replace Mohamed Salah by bringing in Victor Munoz and maybe giving Rio Ngumoha a bigger role, or whether they are really going to go for Paris St-Germain's Bradley Barcola, or someone like him, in the next few days.”
It’s the fault line running through every prediction: is this Liverpool side reloaded, or just halfway through a rebuild?
Iraola’s step up – and the defensive worry
Sue Smith places Liverpool fourth. She likes Iraola, but she likes evidence even more.
“I know it's a completely different level and expectation managing Liverpool and it's going be interesting to see how he does in that sort of step up,” she says. “But all you can judge Iraola on is what he's done at Bournemouth and I think he's been brilliant.”
That Bournemouth spell, with its intensity and bravery on the ball, has clearly impressed her. Yet she cannot ignore what might unravel at the back.
“Defensively is my concern, though. Especially the right-hand side.”
In other words: Liverpool may thrill, but can they survive the big moments against the very best?
The predictions table shows a club caught between eras – no longer the automatic title pick, not yet dismissed as outsiders. Iraola’s Liverpool will not be judged on what they were under Klopp, but on how quickly they can become something new.
