Liverpool 2026/27 Season Preview: Iraola’s New Era
Liverpool begin 2026/27 in a position that would have seemed almost impossible 12 months ago.
They were Premier League champions in 2024/25. One season later, Arne Slot was gone, Liverpool had finished fifth, and Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konaté had all left Anfield.
The fall was severe. Liverpool ended last season 25 points behind champions Arsenal and conceded 53 league goals despite enormous investment in the squad.
Now Andoni Iraola has to rebuild the idea as much as the team.
His Liverpool should be faster, more aggressive and more vertical. Ronald Araujo has arrived on loan from Barcelona to reinforce the defence, Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz add youth, and Alexander Isak finally enters a season after a full pre-season.
This is still a squad capable of challenging near the top.
But it is no longer Salah’s Liverpool, and it is no longer Slot’s.
Quick Answer
Liverpool begin the 2026/27 Premier League season under Andoni Iraola after finishing fifth last season, 25 points behind Arsenal.
Salah, Robertson and Konaté have all left. Jacquet and Munoz have arrived, while Araujo has joined from Barcelona on a season-long loan.
The biggest questions are whether Iraola can repair a defence that conceded 53 league goals, replace Salah’s influence and finally unlock Florian Wirtz.
A title challenge is possible.
First Liverpool have to become a coherent team again.
From Champions to Fifth
Liverpool’s title defence unravelled far earlier than expected.
A run of six defeats in seven Premier League matches between September and November changed the direction of the season, and the champions never truly recovered.
They eventually finished fifth, 25 points behind Arsenal.
The defensive decline was just as significant. Liverpool conceded 53 league goals, repeatedly looking vulnerable when possession was lost and the spaces behind midfield opened too easily.
Slot delivered the title in his first season.
His second ended with dismissal.
Iraola Changes the Direction
Liverpool appointed Iraola after three strong seasons at Bournemouth, culminating in a sixth-place finish and European qualification.
The attraction is obvious.
Iraola wants intensity, vertical attacks and pressure high up the pitch. He wants Liverpool spending long periods in the opposition half, with and without the ball.
That sounds naturally compatible with Anfield.
But pre-season has already shown the challenge. Liverpool have produced strong periods without always sustaining the same intensity across entire matches.
When Iraola’s press works, Liverpool can suffocate opponents.
When it breaks, space appears quickly.
His first task is not simply making Liverpool run more.
It is making them run together.
Life After Mohamed Salah
No tactical change can be separated from Salah’s departure.
For years, Liverpool could enter difficult matches knowing they had one of Europe’s most reliable sources of goals and decisive moments on the right side of their attack.
That guarantee has gone.
As we covered in our Mohamed Salah career and Liverpool records feature, replacing Salah is not simply a matter of finding another right winger.
Liverpool have to replace goals, assists, availability and fear.
Munoz adds another attacking option, while Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa can compete for minutes, but the responsibility will have to spread across the front line.
Liverpool need more from Wirtz.
They need Isak fit.
And they need the system to create what Salah once created individually.
Alexander Isak Can Become the New Reference Point
Isak’s first Liverpool season was disrupted before it properly settled.
His drawn-out move from Newcastle affected his preparation, and an ankle fracture in December further damaged the campaign.
This summer is different.
The Swedish striker enters the season after a full preparation period, giving Iraola the chance to build his attack around one of the Premier League’s most complete forwards.
Isak can run behind, receive between the lines, combine with attacking midfielders and finish from different areas.
That versatility fits Iraola’s vertical football.
A healthy Isak changes Liverpool’s ceiling.
Iraola Must Unlock Florian Wirtz
Perhaps no Liverpool player has more to gain from the managerial change than Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool paid around £120 million to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen in 2025, but his first season never consistently justified the fee.
Iraola’s football could help.
Wirtz is at his best when he receives between the lines and attacks before a defence is organised. A more vertical Liverpool should create more of those moments.
His relationship with Isak could become central. If Isak pins centre-backs and threatens the space behind them, Wirtz can operate in the areas that open in front.
Liverpool do not need him to become Salah.
They need him to become Wirtz again.
Araujo Is an Immediate Defensive Solution
Liverpool entered August with a centre-back problem.
Joe Gomez suffered a muscle injury in pre-season, Giovanni Leoni was recovering from an ACL injury and Jacquet was also carrying a fitness issue.
That increased the pressure on Virgil van Dijk and made defensive reinforcement necessary.
Araujo’s loan from Barcelona therefore makes immediate sense.
He brings pace, aggression, aerial strength and experience, and he can defend the large spaces that come with a high line.
That quality matters under Iraola.
Araujo also reduces the pressure on Jacquet, who should be allowed to develop rather than being asked to solve the defence immediately.
The Press Will Decide Liverpool’s Ceiling
Iraola’s Liverpool should look very different without the ball.
The front line will trigger pressure aggressively, the midfield must close the spaces behind it and the defensive line will push higher to compress the pitch.
The idea is simple: win the ball closer to goal and attack before the opponent can reset.
The danger is just as clear.
If the first line jumps and the midfield arrives late, Premier League teams will play through Liverpool and expose the defence in open space.
That makes cohesion more important than aggression.
The tactical ceiling is extremely high.
So is the physical demand.
The Opening Fixtures Give Iraola No Hiding Place
Liverpool begin away to Newcastle United on August 23.
Nottingham Forest then visit Anfield before Liverpool travel to promoted Ipswich Town. Fulham come next, followed by an away match at Bournemouth.
It is a useful opening sequence, but not an easy one.
Newcastle will immediately test Liverpool’s physical level. Ipswich is the kind of promoted-team away match a title contender is expected to control.
Then the schedule becomes more revealing.
Manchester City visit Anfield in October before Arsenal arrive later in the month.
Iraola has some time to build.
Not much.
Soccer Herald Prediction
Predicted finish: 3rd
Best-case scenario: Iraola’s pressing clicks quickly, Isak stays fit and Wirtz becomes the creative centre of a genuine title challenge.
Worst-case scenario: The press remains inconsistent, defensive injuries continue and Salah’s lost output proves impossible to replace.
Key player: Alexander Isak
Player to watch: Florian Wirtz
Most important new defender: Ronald Araujo
Biggest tactical question: Can Liverpool sustain Iraola’s intensity without becoming vulnerable in transition?
Season verdict: Liverpool still possess enough elite talent to challenge for major honours, and their ceiling is high enough to compete with almost anyone in the league.
But too much has changed to automatically place them ahead of the most settled title contenders.
There is a new manager, a new attacking hierarchy, a defence still being reconstructed and a team learning how to function without Salah. Wirtz needs unlocking, Isak needs a healthy season and Iraola’s pressing structure needs time to become automatic.
That is why third feels more realistic than first.
If those pieces come together quickly, Liverpool can force their way into the title race.
If they do not, last season’s gap will not disappear simply because the manager has changed.
This is not about restoring the Liverpool of two years ago.
Iraola has to build the next one.
Sources
Reuters: New boss Iraola aiming to re-ignite Liverpool challenge
