FPL team previews – Liverpool: Best players, predicted XI + more

Our 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team previews continue with Liverpool.

In these team-by-team guides, we’ll be looking at each club’s best players, taking a stab at a predicted line-up for Gameweek 1, reviewing pre-season and more.

You can read our stats-packed review of Liverpool’s 2022/23 campaign in this article.

Data in this article comes from our Premium Members Area, which you can access with a discounted pre-season subscription.

LIVERPOOL: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

Goalscoring shouldn’t be a problem this season.

Jurgen Klopp has all five of his main attacking options fit and raring to go for Gameweek 1, something he wasn’t able to say for much of 2022/23.

That quintet has scored 15 goals between them in pre-season. If nothing else, it puts some pep in the step before the action commences for real.

Two big-money acquisitions in central midfield (more of which below) have also freshened up and added creativity to an engine room that had gone stale over the last few years.

Failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League might be seen as a positive, at least from a Fantasy perspective.

While the Reds have the reviled Thursday-Sunday turnaround as part of their UEFA Europa League involvement, you’d imagine that many of the Premier League regulars will be spared in midweek more often than if they were competing in the Champions League. Game-time beckons for the likes of Kostas Tsimikas (£4.5m), Joel Matip (£5.0m) and Harvey Elliott (£5.0m) in that competition.

After a largely disappointing 2022/23, Liverpool at least finished on a high: they were unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League outings, a Gameweek 30 switch to the current 3-2-2-3 shape the catalyst for the upturn in results.

LIVERPOOL: REASONS TO BE FEARFUL

The defence.

Liverpool ranked a disastrous 18th for big chances conceded last season and there have been few signs in the summer that they’re going to tighten up in 2023/24.

One hoisted ball over the top of their midfield seems to be all that it takes, the high line exploited time and time again.

That was particularly noticeable against Bayern Munich last week, as was the gaping void down the right flank when Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m) drifted into midfield.

And while Fabinho’s powers were on the wane anyway, Klopp goes into Gameweek 1 without a fit senior defensive midfielder (a ‘six’, as the kids like to say). The Reds at least have till the end of August to remedy that.

All in all, then, an unconvincing backline that will again require Alisson (£5.5m) to produce the xG-defying heroics that somehow led to 14 clean sheets:

Above: The FPL goalkeepers with the best expected goals prevented totals in 2022/23

SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY

Alexis Mac Allister (£6.0m) and Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) were much-needed signings in central midfield.

The pair have been used predominantly as ‘number 10s’ in Klopp’s 3-2-2-3 system in pre-season, although Mac Allister was tried in Fabinho’s old role in the final friendly against Darmstadt.

You can read much more on this duo in their stand-alone Scout Reports:

• FPL new signings: Will Mac Allister be worth buying at Liverpool?
• FPL new signings: Who is Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai?

Heading out the exit door along with Fabinho were Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner. All (mostly) great servants in their day, but that day had long passed.

It’s left a thinner squad than we’re used to seeing (just 19 senior outfielders) but there are high hopes for youngsters like winger Ben Doak and right-back Conor Bradley, who may get more of a look-in – perhaps in Europe – than before.

PRE-SEASON REPORT

We’ve touched on the good and bad of pre-season already: exciting going forward, ropey at the rear.

Alexander-Arnold, Mac Allister and Curtis Jones (£5.0m) have all had stabs playing as the ‘six’, while Cody Gakpo (£7.5m) has played both through the middle and in one of the ’10’ roles.

Salah contributed a whopping seven assists, although his goal count – two – was the joint-lowest of Liverpool’s five attackers.

Darwin, who scored on four occasions himself, had the lowest minutes of the quintet and was left out of the line-up in the last two friendlies.

OPENING FIXTURES

There are certainly easier opening fixture runs out there in FPL land, even if Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs are avoided until November/December.

Trips to Chelsea, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion are far from straightforward, although mostly from a clean sheet perspective.

A revitalised Aston Villa side – who caused problems at Anfield in May – also head to Merseyside in Gameweek 4.

The Reds don’t encounter a newly promoted club until Gameweek 11.

Interestingly, Salah scored just five goals from 16 appearances in 2022/23 against the sides he’ll face in Gameweeks 1-8.

Liverpool kept six clean sheets in those 16 games last season.

PREDICTED GAMEWEEK 1 LINE-UP

Barring any unexpected injuries, we’re looking at just one or two selection dilemmas for Klopp going into Gameweek 1.

The goalkeeper and the usual back four (one of whom can often be found in midfield!) look secure, as do Salah and the two new summer signings.

Darwin being overlooked against Darmstadt, even when Gakpo was in midfield, was also the strongest hint yet that he’ll be forced to watch on from the bench at Chelsea. Klopp has repeatedly suggested that the Uruguayan’s off-the-ball work isn’t up to the same levels as his positional rivals.

So it’s a probably case of Diogo Jota (£8.0m) v Luis Diaz (£7.5m) on the left flank, then Jones or Mac Allister for the ‘six’ role. If it’s the latter, Gakpo moves back a bit and Jota leads the line – as we saw on Monday night.

This predicted line-up was compiled on August 8, so make sure to check out our Team News tab closer to the Gameweek 1 deadline for the latest updates.

SET-PIECE TAKERS

Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson (£6.5m) were the go-to guys at set plays in 2022/23, taking over 75% of crossed free-kicks and corners that Liverpool registered.

Tsimikas and Milner were pretty much responsible for the rest – and they were often only in the side to take them when the two first-choice full-backs were rested or injured.

But there’s a new kid on the block in the form of Szoboszlai, who arrived from Leipzig with a reputation for a tasty dead-ball delivery.

Immediately we’ve seen him getting involved, often at Alexander-Arnold’s expense. The Hungary international ‘assisted the assister’ from corners in warm-up matches against Leicester City and Darmstadt, also claiming a set-play assist of his own in the latter game.

He’s similarly a dab hand at direct free-kicks, so Alexander-Arnold’s route to points could take a bit of a hit on two fronts.

As for penalties, Salah looks set to remain on them for now.

The Egyptian had missed twice in succession in Gameweeks 27 and 30 but repaid his manager’s faith by scoring two spot-kicks in Double Gameweek 34.

“Obviously he wanted to stay the penalty taker but we had a normal conversation about it.

“This today was a super penalty, that is really clear, so I think with all the goals Mo scored we cannot just judge it with two missed, to go away from it.

“It was a conversation between two grown-up men.” – Jurgen Klopp on Mohamed Salah after Gameweek 34 of 2022/23

BEST FPL OPTIONS

Only two answers here: FPL royalty in Salah and Alexander-Arnold.

They were first and second respectively among players in their Fantasy positions for expected goal involvement (xGI) in 2022/23.

As it happens, that’s also where they finished for FPL points in their positional classifications.

Alexander-Arnold followed up his last disappointing Fantasy campaign (2020/21) with an almost-record-busting 208 points, while Salah hasn’t scored fewer than 231 points in six years at Liverpool. Even when he has a ‘bad’ season, he’s almost always better than the competition.

Encouragingly, after the Gameweek 30 change in system, they were also first and joint-second among all FPL assets for Fantasy returns:

Pre-season has raised question marks about both players, though probably more so Alexander-Arnold. Firstly, the defence doesn’t look to have tightened up. Secondly, Szoboszlai is eating into his corners and free-kicks.

Salah’s summer transformation into assist merchant has also been noted, although he’s still in and around the same penalty box spaces he has occupied since 2017.

Both narratives are being used by Fantasy managers as a rationale to omit the premium Liverpool pair. It’s understandable, given the price tags and Erling Haaland‘s (£14.0m) perma-captain credentials, but as always, you’ll need a good back-up plan to get them if they start the campaign on fire.

ONES FOR THE WATCHLIST

Pretty much everyone else is a ‘wait and see’.

Four other attackers are competing for two spots (three, if Gakpo drops into midfield), while a penalty-less Mac Allister and an untested-in-England Szoboszlai are worth monitoring for a while.

Above: FPL assets sorted by minutes per expected goal involvement (xGI) in 2022/23

Jota and (especially) Darwin’s underlying numbers are generally excellent whenever they do take to the field; it’s just the ongoing debate about when that will be and how much time they will get. Jota looks more assured of minutes at this point.

We ideally need a domino to fall (ie an injury or two up top) for the competition to lessen in ferocity and for the picks to present themselves as less of a risk.

FAN Q&A

We’ve got FPL Virgin and FPL Family’s Lee on Liverpool supporter duties this time.

Our thanks go to those two for their time and answers to the questions below.

Who or what has caught your eye in pre-season at your club?

“Darwin’s form really caught the eye initially – but we’re back to where we started after he was benched in the final couple of pre-season matches.

“Liverpool’s propensity for goals and generally to attack has been a constant feature. A lot of the training drills I see on YouTube focus on the dynamics of attacking play. For sure, this makes for better viewing than defensive drills, but I’ve nevertheless noticed that Klopp’s default setting this season may simply be to score one more than the opposition.” – Lee

“As this great tweet from FPL Focal summarises, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota have been really amongst the goals and assists in pre-season. Trent Alexander-Arnold has certainly underperformed with just the solitary assist and one clean sheet in five pre-season games (Liverpool’s 4-0 win at Leicester City). There have also been question marks about his position, filling in at number six while Liverpool look to replace Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the transfer market.” – FPL Virgin

Who would be the top three FPL picks you’d go for at your club and why?

“It’s no surprise I’d put Mohamed Salah in there as top pick – the challenge FPL managers will have is finding space for him alongside Erling Haaland and any other premium players we might want to select. The £12.5m price tag is prohibitive.

“Second is Trent Alexander-Arnold, again coming in at the premium price of £8.0m.

“My third choice was going to be Darwin Nunez, based largely on his early pre-season form. But rotation could – and probably will – still be an issue. Nevertheless, giving him the number 9 shirt this season feels like a statement of intent from Jurgen Klopp. One to watch.” – Lee

“1. Mohamed Salah. The most nailed-on player in Liverpool’s attack. Would it be a surprise to see him get 200+ points this season? There are very few players you can say that about. With so much uncertainty at the start of a new season, you need proven FPL assets and there is no one more tried-and-tested than the player often dubbed ‘the greatest FPL player of all time’. Moreover, it is much easier to start with him than to get to him once the season begins.

“2. Trent Alexander-Arnold. Again, another tried-and-tested FPL asset who is much easier to start with than to get to with precious free transfers once Gameweek 1 kicks off. Liverpool’s defence and settling in new signings early on in the season is a worry, but with Allison’s xGP heroics, a clean sheet is always a possibility. I’d expect Trent to be right up there with Kieran Trippier, Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne for the most assists this season.

“3. Cody Gakpo. A tough call between him and Diogo Jota but I think Klopp is a big fan of Gakpo and he is slightly more nailed. Plus there is a lot of competition for midfield places in FPL and a much smaller number of viable forward picks, so we’re more likely to have room in our squads for the Dutchman. When fully fit, I think Luis Diaz is too much of a threat to Jota’s starts on the left wing. I expect Gakpo to have a strong second season at Liverpool. Darwin Nunez is a no-go for me with him failing to start the last few pre-season games and with Klopp once again hinting that he isn’t happy with the player’s counter-pressing.” – FPL Virgin

Will you own any of your club’s players in Gameweek 1? Why/why not?

“Most of my drafts had Trent Alexander-Arnold and Darwin Nunez taking up two spots. However, Darwin’s benchings towards the end of pre-season and the lack of clean sheets has meant that I swapped to Mohamed Salah. Liverpool’s fixtures over the first few Gameweeks look tricky – particularly away from home – but Salah has proved to be one of the most consistent picks in recent seasons, regardless of opposition.” – Lee

“I currently just have Mohamed Salah in my team in a 4-5-1. I couldn’t decide between Ben Chilwell and John Stones as my third defender, so I decided to get both and the switch in formation freed up the funds to get to Salah. Everyone expects Salah to have a good season and I have slight doubts about the other premium-lite options like Bruno Fernandes and Gabriel Martinelli in midfield. I’d rather have an FPL guy who is as reliable as they come, rather than scramble to get him once the season is underway and I need my free transfers to jump on unforeseen bandwagons.

“With the mixed fixtures and with Liverpool needing time to sign and integrate a new central midfielder, it’s currently a watching brief on Alexander-Arnold and on a second attacker.” – FPL Virgin

Prediction for 2023/24 – where do you think your team will finish and why?

“The loss of several key characters over the summer, particularly in leadership positions – like James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho – will have an impact on the squad. Liverpool have undoubtedly strengthened on the pitch with the signings of Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai, but so have other teams.

“I’d like to predict a top-four finish but Liverpool will do well to improve on the fifth place they achieved last time out, in my opinion”. – Lee

“Third. There is a bit too much flux within the squad, with long-standing players departing for Saudi Arabia, for my liking. I think Liverpool have the firepower to outscore teams and win a lot of games but, to win the league, you need a robust, solid defence to grind out several 1-0 wins during the course of the season – and we lack this”. – FPL Virgin