Liverpool 2026-27 Premier League preview: Prediction, fixtures, squad, depth chart

Liverpool's 2025-26 Premier League campaign was the club's worst in over a decade - an unimaginable fifth-placed finish with 60 points that ultimately led to the dismissal of title-winning boss Arne Slot.

Under the direction of Andoni Iraola, the target for 2026-27 must be to close the gap on champions Arsenal, but fans would settle for excitement after the dour football Slot's side regularly produced.

The summer has so far been shaped by the end of Mohamed Salah's nine-year Anfield career, though he was not the only star to leave, with Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate following him out of the club for free.

However, after spending in the region of £450m in the summer of 2025, there is still significant quality in the Reds' squad, and they are reportedly seriously interested in bringing the likes of Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye to Anfield.

Here, Sports Mole previews Liverpool's 2026-27 Premier League season, covering fixtures, squad depth, the new manager's profile and a prediction for Iraola's first campaign at Anfield.

Liverpool 2026-27 Premier League fixtures

Liverpool open away at Newcastle United, before hosting Nottingham Forest in gameweek two and visiting newly promoted Ipswich Town the following week, while a home game against Fulham and a trip to Vitality Stadium to face Iraola's former club Bournemouth complete a generous first five gameweeks.

The autumn period will then provide the earliest true tests of Iraola at Liverpool, with Manchester City visiting Anfield on October 11 and the reigning champions Arsenal following on November 1.

Liverpool will also have to travel to Brentford and host Brighton & Hove Albion in October, and that period will give fans a clearer picture of what to expect for the remainder of the campaign.

The Merseysiders will also have to navigate the Champions League league phase from September, meaning European fixtures will overlap with the busy October and December scheduling, something Iraola has never had to deal with at Bournemouth.

Liverpool summer 2026 transfer activity

The most significant task that Liverpool have had had to deal with is to replace Salah, the man who averaged 23 Premier League goals in each of his nine seasons at the club.

While deals for Barcola and Mbaye have not yet materialised, Victor Munoz was signed from Osasuna for a fee of £34.5m, and he could represent a bargain by the end of the season.

A need to reinforce the backline has also emerged, and the headline arrival at the back has been centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, who joined in the summer after a deal was agreed with Rennes in the winter worth £60m.

The defender has only played 45 minutes for the Reds in friendlies this summer, but he was incredibly impressive, and there are hopes that the 21-year-old could turn out to be an upgrade on Konate.

Liverpool also brought in Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo on loan, and he is expected to provide cover in both the heart of defence, as well as at right-back.

More business must be conducted before transfer deadline day on September 1, especially if the likes of Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones leave, but there is still time to strengthen the squad.

Liverpool 2026-27 squad

With recent defensive additions, Liverpool should now have adequate defensive depth at centre-back, though there are serious injury concerns at right-back, particularly Conor Bradley, who could be out for a number of months.

Liverpool have enough midfielders in their squad in terms of numbers, with Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Jones and Wataru Endo offering senior experience, though the latter two have been strongly linked with exits.

The emergence of trey Nyoni as an option in that area could save the Reds a significant sum this summer, but it remains to be seen if he would be able to step into Jones' role given he is just 19.

Iraola is undoubtedly short in the forward line considering Salah is yet to truly be replaced, while Hugo Ekitike's Achilles injury means Alexander Isak does not have a suitable backup.

Liverpool have Isak, Rio Ngumoha, Munoz and Cody Gakpo as reliable options to play in three attacking spots, and if no additions are made before the transfer window closes, number 10 Florian Wirtz may have to be used in an auxiliary attacking role.

Liverpool 2026-27 predicted starting XI

Iraola has shown a preference for a 4-2-3-1 formation during pre-season, though it has at times more often resembled a 4-4-2, with Wirtz operating close to Isak up front.

Szoboszlai and Gravenberch have been used in deeper midfield roles, while Ngumoha and Gakpo have been stationed as wingers, though the expected sale of the former would make room in the XI for Barcola.

With Bradley injured, the only suitable option for right-back is Jeremie Frimpong despite his own history of muscle problems, but Milos Kerkez is a certain starter as a left-back.

Virgil van Dijk has looked excellent in pre-season as a left-side centre-back, but the choice of partner next to him is somewhat more problematic given Jacquet has played 45 minutes of football since February, while Araujo joined in August 10.

Perhaps Araujo will start the season, but once Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni get up to speed, Iraola will have more options to choose from.

Alisson Becker is set to start between the posts, as while he has been linked with an exit, the Reds appear reluctant to trust number two Giorgi Mamardashvili, who has struggled to impress whenever he has been asked to play out from the back or come off his line to engage an opponent.

Liverpool 2026-27 squad depth

Mamardashvili should not be relied upon as a starter, but he is a capable deputy, so if he is forced to step in for Alisson occasionally in the Premier League, then there should not be a dramatic collapse at the back.

Bradley may be seen as the starting right-back, but until he can prove his fitness, he will join Calvin Ramsey as a backup to Frimpong, while returning loanee Kostas Tsimikas is set to be the backup to Kerkez.

Van Dijk is the only certain starter as a centre-back, but that does leave Joe Gomez, Leano, Jacquet and Araujo as options to partner him, as well as options to rotate with him.

Mac Allister could be seen as a stater in midfield, but he is unlikely to be fully fit for a number of weeks, so he will likely have to settle for a role as a squad player alongside Nyoni, Jones and Endo, while Stefan Bajcetic appears close to an exit.

Gakpo will likely start for Liverpool on the left side of attack if he is still in the squad, while Ngumoha will play on the right, and the two are currently set to be deputised by the likes of Federico Chiesa and Munoz, while Wirtz's most likely backup is Harvey Elliott.

Hugo Ekitike will no doubt be seen as the primary backup to Isak, though fans may have to wait until the new year to see him make an appearance this season.

There is no denying that Liverpool's squad is not particularly strong, but that could change by the end of the transfer window.

Andoni Iraola: Manager profile

Iraola was appointed Liverpool manager in June 2026, replacing Slot after the club terminated the Dutchman's contract, and the 44-year-old Spaniard arrives from Bournemouth, where three successive seasons on the south coast produced 12th, ninth and sixth-placed finishes, the last of which represented the club's highest Premier League position in their history.

His 2023-24 debut at Bournemouth began disastrously, with the club winless across their first nine league games before Iraola's system clicked and they accumulated 22 points from the next nine, and while his stint at Liverpool is unlikely to start as badly, fans may have to prepare for an adaptation period.

Iraola operated an aggressive 4-2-3-1 at Bournemouth, and he instilled the same high-pressing principles into his squad has he did at Rayo Vallecano, and he managed to transform the Cherries into one of the division's most difficult opponents.

His system placed significant physical demands on all 11 players and required the front three to coordinate pressing triggers, a level of tactical organisation that Liverpool's squad was desperately lacking under Slot.

Alexander Isak: Liverpool's star player

Alexander Isak joined Liverpool in September 2025 for £125m from Newcastle United, where he had scored 54 Premier League goals in 86 appearances across three seasons; the 26-year-old Swede arrived as one of the most expensive signings in Premier League history and was immediately cast as the focal point of a post-Salah attacking era at Anfield.

Following the exit of Salah, Liverpool have arguably been left without a talisman, as while Van Dijk is still the leader of the team, there is only so much he can do from centre-back.

The goalscoring void left by the Egyptian must be filled by Isak, who joined in September 2025 from Newcastle for £125m after scoring 54 league goals in 86 appearances for the club, though he only netted three times in the top flight for the Reds last term.

Admittedly, his debut season at Anfield was heavily disrupted by injuries, poor management and a lacklustre approach to fitness by staff, but the change in the dugout should help him return to his best level.

Isak twice scored at least 21 league goals in a season twice for Newcastle, and a similar return for Liverpool would help the Reds charge back up the table, and potentially challenge for silverware.

The 26-year-old will turn 27 in September, and he will be one of the oldest member of the squad if the Merseysiders complete deals for the likes of Barcola, while also shipping out Gakpo, so he must take responsibility in 2026-27.

Florian Wirtz: Liverpool's one to watch

Though Isak must look to replace the goals of Salah, it will be up to Wirtz to replace the Egyptian's creativity, and he will need to improve significantly if the Reds are to succeed in 2026-27.

The German operated primarily from the left flank at Bayer Leverkusen, but he has largely been trusted to operate as an attacking midfielder in the Premier League, and he looks certain to be trusted there by Iraola.

However, he did struggle for large periods in his debut season, with the pace of play and physicality seemingly catching him out, though the approach of Slot to fitness and training did not help him settle into life at Anfield.

The 23-year-old only scored five goals and produced three assists in the Premier League in 2025-26, and he must improve both returns if he is to justify the £116m that Liverpool paid for him in the summer of 2025.

Liverpool strengths and weaknesses

Liverpool pre-season results

Liverpool played six pre-season games in total, recording three wins, one draw and two defeats; the US tour in late July saw them produce a 4-2 win over Sunderland in Nashville and a 1-0 victory over Wrexham in New York before they then suffered a sobering 4-2 defeat to Leeds in Chicago on August 2.

Iraola then lost at Anfield on August 9, when Monaco won 3-2 in a game that exposed the same defensive fragility that cost Liverpool across 2025-26, but a behind-closed-doors 0-0 draw against Como at the AXA Training Centre on August 16 was followed the same evening by a more positive 2-0 win over the Italian side at Anfield.

That final game against Como was encouraging, though concerns still remain about the depth of the squad ahead of the Premier League campaign.

Liverpool 2026-27 season prediction

The opening six-game run contains three winnable fixtures in Ipswich, Sunderland and Fulham alongside the test at St. James' Park, and Liverpool should be capable of building early momentum if Iraola's system beds in quickly.

Matches against Man City and Arsenal at Anfield will be a sharper test of whether the squad has the defensive organisation to compete against the division's top two.

Champions League football adds midweek European fixtures from September, and that presents a significant squad-management challenge for a coach that has never previously had to balance top-flight league demands against continental competition.

How Liverpool navigate the congested period from December to January, when Ekitike's return from his Achilles injury should provide some attacking reinforcement, may prove the clearest indicator of Iraola's capacity to compete at this level.

An important variable will be Isak's fitness, especially as Liverpool need someone to step up and replace the output of Salah, though the Swede will likely have no natural backup until the return of Ekitike in 2027.

Winning the title at this stage is unrealistic, but the squad does have quality despite its thin nature, and they could finish as high as third if they experience luck with injuries.

However, they are highly unlikely to be in a title race as things stand, so if Liverpool wish to challenge for the title, they must act in the transfer market before it is too late.