Walcott's Bold Prediction for Liverpool in Premier League
Theo Walcott has branded Liverpool “probably the hardest team to call” going into the new Premier League season – yet he still expects them to come roaring back from last year’s slump.
And he’s gone big. Second place big.
Walcott’s bold call on Liverpool
Liverpool’s summer has been a riddle. Three wins, a draw and two defeats in pre-season have offered flashes of promise and moments of concern as Andoni Iraola prepares for his first competitive game in charge away to Newcastle on Sunday.
They finished a distant fifth last season and have endured a quiet transfer window. A year ago they were defending champions; this time they arrive with the volume on expectations turned right down.
Walcott, though, sees danger in the shadows.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the former Arsenal forward said: “Liverpool are probably the hardest team to call. Iraola is an excellent manager and if Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz have big seasons, they could absolutely push Arsenal for the title.”
In Walcott’s predicted table, Arsenal take the crown, Liverpool chase them home in second, with Manchester City and Chelsea rounding off his top four.
High praise for a side many still view as a mystery.
A team nobody can quite pin down
The split in opinion around Liverpool is stark. Paul Merson has backed them, like Walcott, to finish runners-up. Steve Nicol, on the other hand, doesn’t even see Iraola’s team in the top six come May.
That gap in forecasts says everything about where Liverpool are right now.
On the evidence of pre-season, Iraola’s blueprint is clear enough. When it clicks, Liverpool attack with a kind of wild, sweeping energy that can rip teams apart. The front line moves quickly, the ball moves quicker, and opponents can suddenly find themselves overwhelmed.
Then the flip side hits.
They remain open on the counter, exposed when attacks break down, and there’s an uncomfortable trend of conceding from set pieces. It’s thrilling, but it’s loose. The sort of football that can win you 4-1 one week and see you picked off the next.
It all feels strangely familiar.
Echoes of Rodgers and early Klopp
If this version of Liverpool takes shape as expected, it may resemble the Brendan Rodgers side that dazzled but fell short, or the early Jurgen Klopp months when chaos and brilliance lived side by side.
At their best, they could be irresistible. Over 38 games, though, the question is whether they can be reliable.
That’s why some see a title push in them and others see a team stuck in the pack. The truth may sit somewhere in between: better than last season, sharper and more dangerous, but still a step away from Arsenal and City’s relentless standards.
What seems likely is that they’ll be far more watchable than in Arne Slot’s grim second campaign, when the football grew stale and the mood at Anfield followed suit. Iraola’s Liverpool might frustrate, but they won’t be dull.
There is still time, too, for late business to reshape the squad and nudge those predictions again.
Walcott is convinced they can chase Arsenal all the way. The rest of the league is about to find out whether Liverpool are title contenders in disguise – or just the Premier League’s most entertaining enigma.
