Liverpool

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

St James' Park plays host to the meeting of two new managers this weekend as one of the highest scoring fixtures in Premier League history resumes on Tyneside.

Andoni Iraola ended three seasons at Bournemouth with a bang after leading the Cherries to European football for the first time and his arrival at Liverpool earlier this summer was well received following the decline under predecessor Arne Slot.

Following their title win with 84 points under Slot in 2024-25, Liverpool slipped to sixth last season after earning just 60. It was the biggest drop-off in terms of the overall points tally of any Premier League team when comparing the past two campaigns.

The arrival of Iraola, however, has been tempered by fan frustration surrounding Liverpool's limited transfer activity following the departure of Mohamed Salah.

Salah scored 257 goals and provided 120 assists in 442 games for the club but Liverpool have yet to bring in a new right winger, while the squad also looks light in central midfield where Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are the only senior options.

Salah's absence and the lack of a direct replacement is likely to result in an increased focus on Alexander Isak. The £125m signing struggled amid injury problems after swapping St James' Park for Anfield in a protracted move last summer.

He returns to his former club for the first time on Sunday afternoon having scored just four goals in 22 games for Liverpool so far.

Newcastle kick off proceedings without Eddie Howe for the first time in five years, with replacement Matthias Jaissle taking charge of a Premier League side for the first time in his career.

Jaissle has won his opening game in charge at his three previous clubs and his Al-Ahli side were unbeaten at home in the Saudi Pro League last season.

The former Salzburg boss has midfield woes of his own to contend with following the departures of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, while Anthony Gordon has also been sold to Barcelona.

Newcastle have made seven new signings but a focus on youth means that a side that finished 12th last season is very much in transition. Jaissle's immediate task may be to simply steady the ship.

The Magpies have both scored (14) and conceded (13) in each of their last seven Premier League home games, while they have failed to defeat the Reds in the past 19 league meetings (D5, L14).

Liverpool had struggles of their own on the road last season, losing nine matches, but they have opened with a victory in each of the past 13 seasons.

Whoever the winner, one thing that this Premier League fixture usually promises is goals. There have been 198 scored so far – two more would make it just the third fixture in the competition's history to reach a double century.

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport journalist

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Last season, 22 of 35 BBC predictors had Liverpool down as champions and only three thought they would finish lower than second. This time, only four of 28 have them finishing higher than third.

Thomas Hitzlsperger - Prediction: 2nd

I've gone for them to finish second because I really like the way Iraola's teams play. 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.

Danny Murphy - Prediction: 3rd

Liverpool might need a bit more time before they are challenging for the title again. 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.

Sue Smith - Prediction: 4th

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, but all you can judge Iraola on is what he's done at Bournemouth and I think he's been brilliant. Defensively is my concern, though. Especially the right-hand side.

Premier League predictions 2026-27: BBC Sport pundits pick their top four

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter

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For Andoni Iraola, the waiting is almost over and there was certainly a sense of excitement as he spoke to the media before Liverpool's first Premier League game of the season, even if his squad feels thin at the moment.

Iraola is confident that things will be better come the end of the transfer window, in terms of attacking options, but stressed the need to adapt given how the market works.

The focus will be on "improving the squad because we already have very good players here". And the expectation around Anfield is that it will be a busy end to the transfer window for Liverpool.

Curtis Jones is on his way out and Iraola's assessment of that was that he "understood the situation", even though he liked what Jones offered and wanted to keep him.

For now, all eyes are on Sunday where the focus will turn on Alexander Isak as he makes his return to St James' Park. "Everyone will be very motivated and I think it is going to be the same for Alex," said Iraola.

After a season to forget last year for both Isak and Liverpool, the pressure is on to make sure things are different this season.

Iraola spoke about how "lovely" it has been to see the scale of the club whenever they travel, but he will be well aware too that the pressure will only intensify once the campaign gets under way.

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The Commentators' View trio of John Murray, Ian Dennis and Ali Bruce-Ball have been previewing the new Premier League season as they return for series three of their podcast.

Murray asked his co-hosts: "What is it that is most capturing your imagination about the season of Premier League commentary that lies ahead?"

Dennis responded: "After watching the Community Shield, Arsenal have already laid down a marker.

"I remember the time when Erling Haaland made his debut in the Community Shield at the King Power in Leicester and people were quick to jump to conclusions because he made nine touches or something like that.

"He soon put that to bed but Manchester City, on the evidence of the 90 minutes in Cardiff, didn't look quite up to speed - but that is maybe not surprising given players are still coming back from the World Cup and might not have got the minutes in from pre-season.

"To have lost Pep Guardiola would have been impactful enough, but to have now lost Rodri, as well as Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake - all of that experience - is a massive change for City.

"We'll have to see what happens between now and the end of the transfer window."

After Bruce-Ball agreed about Arsenal's strength, Dennis added: "You could also argue that Liverpool will be in transition this season as well given a new manager in Andoni Iraola.

"There's also no Mo Salah so potentially I'm thinking, could Manchester United look to take advantage of that and be the closest rivals to Arsenal given the impact that Michael Carrick had at the end of last season?"

Murray replied: "The thing I'm most looking forward to is exactly that - to see which one of those teams is going to be able to make a fast start when there's been so much change at so many different clubs."

Listen to the full episode of The Commentators' View on BBC Sounds

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Newcastle at St James' Park (kick-off 16:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Iraola said he is "excited" for the Premier League's return this weekend and believes he has "good players" who give him a chance to fight for "everything".

• The Liverpool manager added that, although he would like to add to his squad before the transfer window closes, he "does not spend too much time thinking about it" and instead insisted he will have to "adapt".

• He said that, although he valued Curtis Jones highly, the midfielder made it clear he wanted to leave Liverpool when the pair held talks during the first week of pre-season.

• Iraola also backed teenage midfielder Trey Nyoni to step up and be a "valuable" player, should Jones complete a move to Inter Milan. He explained: "I am very happy with Trey. Very, very happy. He has been very good in pre-season. Not only in the games but also when he trains with us and faces top-level players. I have no doubts with Trey. He will be very valuable for us this season and I hope he plays a lot."

• On the overall state of his squad as the season begins: "We are not at 100%, but I am happy in the sense that I think we are at a level where we can compete, win games and still be a good team. We definitely need to improve. We will improve. We will try to do it as quickly as possible, but there are always processes."

• Following the departures of Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson at the end of last season, Iraola said Liverpool have young players "willing" to take on the minutes and "leadership roles" going into a new era at Anfield.

• On the importance of keeping Alexander Isak fit, Iraola said: "I think he had a very good World Cup in terms of availability and fitness levels, and I want to keep him there for as long as we can. We know his level and, if we can keep him there, he will score goals and give us a lot."

• It was also confirmed that Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Dominik Szoboszlai will act as vice-captains to Virgil van Dijk this season, though the former is unlikely to wear the armband due to the complexity of Premier League rules allowing only only captains to speak to referees.

• Iraola offered some insight on an unseen aspect of settling in which relates to working with a new team of performance analysts: "The analyst group is very important at clubs. I have come with one analyst who has helped me integrate into the group. I think we are in a good place, but I want us, just like the team, to improve our working relationships, connections and half-time processes because that is the best way to help the players."

Hit play above to hear more from Iraola or listen on BBC Sounds here

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news.

Got a question about Liverpool? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts.

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Gareth Roberts, from The Late Challenge podcast, says Liverpool's attempts to sign Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh doesn't "signal intent" after the Reds had a £50m bid rejected.

"It's a strange one, it's out of nowhere," Roberts told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"It's not someone we've particularly been linked with. We still need firepower and creativity on the wings, particularly on the right hand side.

"No-one has previously made a credible link that this is someone Liverpool are trying to buy so it's a little bit out of the blue. It's Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye that we've been consistently linked with and the expectation was something will happen with that.

"So is this almost backing away from that and bidding for this lad if you don't let us have them? Is it to flush out PSG almost? Or is it a bit of a supermarket sweep, last-minute buy sort of thing? Neither of which look great, I would say."

Roberts added: "I don't think it's a signing that is going to have everyone outside of Anfield desperate to get a glimpse of him, it's more a shrug of the shoulders type of signing. His numbers don't particularly excite, he's just a solid Premier League player. If you're buying a player like that, it doesn't signal intent.

"It doesn't say we are trying to win the league or we are going for all four trophies. It more says we've had a look around, we don't really seem to be able to do anything and we need to get the manager something."

Hit play below to listen to the full chat or listen here on BBC Sounds

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Football historian and author Peter Kenny Jones has backed 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha to start Liverpool's Premier league opener at Newcastle on Sunday on the right wing.

The prodigiously talented youngster impressed during limited starts last season, but did make 30 senior appearances for the Reds.

"Arne Slot, rightly or wrongly, wasn't playing him a lot last season as I think the club were trying to save him," Jones told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"But, every time he came on he was really exciting and it really worked. It looked like he could get in the England squad for the World Cup.

"The only question mark for me is whether he can play off the right. We've seen how he is from the left and how exciting he is.

"This could be a massive season for him. He's still so young and we don't know what will happen in the future, but I expect he'll end the season with a new squad number and a new contract because he's got a few goals and assists.

"He's so exciting to watch - he's a seat clanger they call it where he gets you off your seat. I can't wait to watch him play again this season."

Listen to the full chat below or on BBC Sounds

The team at Total Sport on BBC Radio Merseyside have made their season predictions for Liverpool's upcoming 2026-27 campaign.

On the show, Carl Woodward, Ian Kennedy, Mike Hughes, Giulia Bould and Phil Munns make predictions for Liverpool's league finish, the Reds' top scorer and also a bold claim for the new season.

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here

Explore all Liverpool content on BBC Sounds

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

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As disappointing as last season was for the 2024-25 champions, Liverpool's underlying numbers just about justified their top-five finish - but it is clear there is a lot for new manager Andoni Iraola to improve.

While only the two Manchester clubs took more shots, 11 teams were better than Liverpool at converting them.

But it wasn't so much a finishing problem for Arne Slot's side, it was a creative one as 12 teams fashioned chances that were easier to score, which is why the Reds only ranked sixth for expected goals.

Despite conceding 53 times, surprisingly only three teams gave up fewer chances and only the top two teams had a lower xG against figure.

But only relegated Wolves and Chelsea conceded a higher percentage of their opponents' shots, with Alisson and Giorgi Mamardashvili both ranking among the worst shotstoppers in terms of goals prevented.

While it could have simply been down to them, the fact they both performed poorly suggests they may not have been working in the best environment at the back.

Liverpool, Leeds United and Everton are among the clubs monitoring Midtjylland's 22-year-old Chile winger Dario Osorio. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

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In the Premier League last season, 13 of the 20 teams finished with between 40 and 60 points - the most in an English top-flight campaign since 2003-04 (also 13).

Was the Premier League so competitive in 2025-26 because the quality of the 'lesser' teams got better or the top teams got worse? It is hard to know for sure.

Given how savvy clubs like Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are, the vast amounts of money that enable even bottom-half sides to sign the best talent from abroad and the Premier League's current dominance of the Europa League and Conference League, it would seem to be the former.

However, the fact that promoted play-off winners Sunderland were able to finish above 13 teams in their first season back suggests the league was maybe not as strong as we think.

What we do know is that whether because they got worse or their opponents got better, four of the sides that finished in the top seven in 2024-25 - champions Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest - took 79 points fewer between them last season.

While Forest's decline was perhaps expected given their incredible seventh-place finish in 2024-25 and their journey to the Europa League semi-finals last season, the others were far more surprising.

Sunderland and Leeds smashed the recent run of promoted sides struggling to compete by taking 64 more points than the teams they replaced in the top flight.

As a result, this season will be a bit of an upside-down one in that Bournemouth, Brighton and Sunderland have European campaigns to navigate while Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle do not.

Will we therefore see a bounce-back to the more 'traditional' order in 2026-27 or are we truly entering a new, fiercely-competitive era of the Premier League?

Read more on the Premier League's competitiveness

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter

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Curtis Jones wanted to explore a new opportunity in Italy - and Liverpool did not want to stand in his way.

Last summer, it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who left his boyhood club for Real Madrid. This summer, it is Jones who has done the same, although his destination is Milan.

From Liverpool's perspective, a £30m package represents good value as Jones only had one year left on his current deal.

Selling Jones also generates immediate pure profit on a homegrown asset. It was either sell him now, sell him for less in January or let him leave for free next summer.

On the pitch, Jones was versatile enough to play in a number of positions but he struggled to make one role his own. Off the pitch, Jones has always been honest and someone willing to take responsibility.

He played 95 games for Liverpool in two seasons under former boss Arne Slot, so his presence as a solid squad option will be missed under Andoni Iraola.

But it will give an opportunity for 19-year-old Trey Nyoni, who impressed in pre-season, to step up.

"I rate Curtis very highly," Iraola said in his first news conference after taking charge of the Reds, adding he wanted Jones to stay and "continue performing the way he has been performing".

He also highlighted that the player is a local lad - "he is Scouse, he is from here" - but with Jones now on his way, it means Liverpool will have no Scousers in their first-team squad.

The effect of that remains to be seen.

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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted last season's title defence was "unacceptable", but he believes the players "have an opportunity to turn it around" under new head coach Andoni Iraola.

The Reds still qualified for Champions League football despite finishing fifth in the Premier League last season with 60 points.

"We all know how tough it will be, but if you aren't up for the challenge then you aren't at the right place," Van Dijk said. "What I feel at the moment is everybody is up for the challenge.

"Let's see how we go about it. I'm really looking forward to this season.

"I don't feel we have a point to prove to anyone. We just have to show how much we care, how much we want to fight for this badge and also realise how privileged we are to be playing for Liverpool."

The 35-year-old will welcome better cover in central defence this season, with Liverpool signing Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo while Giovanni Leoni is close to a return from an ACL injury

There will also be a new style of play under Iraola, who won plaudits for his brand of football during his time at Bournemouth.

"If you look at Bournemouth last season, they were pretty exciting," Van Dijk added. "If we keep working, believing and showing our quality, we can be very excited.

"We need everyone to be fit. We need a squad that is able to compete on all four fronts, that's the only way to try to be successful.

"Let's see what the last couple weeks of the transfer window brings and then let's go for it."

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter

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A number of players are leaving Liverpool for loan moves as Andoni Iraola cuts down his squad for the season ahead.

Winger Kieran Morrison has completed a temporary switch to Sheffield Wednesday for the duration of the 2026-27 campaign.

Morrison, who was impressive during Liverpool's pre-season tour of the USA, turned down interest from Europe to move to League One as the 19-year-old believes he will get consistent first-team football at Hillsborough.

Earlier this summer, Liverpool tied Morrison down to a new deal until 2030.

Meanwhile, Calvin Ramsay is set to complete a loan move to St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership. The 23-year-old right-back is out of contract with Liverpool next summer.

And 18-year-old centre-back Ifeanyi Ndukwe - who can't play competitive football yet for Liverpool because of work permit issues - has travelled to Spain as he closes in on a move to Levante in La Liga on loan.

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter

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When it was revealed on Tuesday that Fenway Sports Group (FSG) had actually sold about 38% of Liverpool to 1892 Holdings, there was certainly an element of confusion.

On Friday, the understanding was that the Jeff Bezos-backed consortium had purchased about a third of Liverpool - and BBC Sport was informed that speculation placing the investment in the range of approximately 30% to 33% was "directionally accurate".

So why was a different figure reported just four days later?

FSG's policy is not to publicly disclose precise ownership stakes but, with numbers circulating before the official announcement, the Boston-based conglomerate was keen to indicate what was being reported was in the right territory, rather than simply referring to it as a "minority investment".

The chain of events, though, has led to some at Liverpool privately asking why FSG was not more transparent, seeing the confusion as unnecessary.

On Friday, BBC Sport also reported the agreement included an option for the consortium to increase its investment in the future.

Four days later, BBC Sport learned there was a specific option within the deal for the consortium to buy a controlling stake in the next 12 months, again raising questions about transparency.

There is an option that would allow 1892 Holdings to become majority owners within a year, though it does not involve a formal commitment.

But the very inclusion of it does pose the question: what is FSG's long-term vision with Liverpool?

When FSG bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010, the club were "literally on the brink of bankruptcy" according to current CEO Billy Hogan.

Sixteen years later, this deal is said to value the club between £5bn and £6bn, meaning the club is worth more than 15 times its value in 2010.

"It is a great deal for FSG," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport. "They generate more than £1bn from the deal and still keep control - this represents the best of both worlds."

But for how long do FSG remain in control? The partnership may have been announced as a minority stake but, make no mistake, these are major developments.

Read the full article here

Chris has sent me this question around Liverpool's pursuit of Bradley Barcola, while Josh has asked if the Reds will look to replace Curtis Jones with a transfer in midfield.

Liverpool's priority in the transfer market is still in attack and namely, Bradley Barcola. The pursuit of Barcola is dragging on but it is very likely that both PSG and Liverpool to come to an agreement this summer for the French winger.

As it stands, a move for another midfielder looks unlikely but as is always the case, if an opportunity in the market presents itself then Liverpool may act.

This year, Liverpool have tied down Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch to new long-term deals while 19-year-old Trey Nyoni will now get an opportunity to show Andoni Iraola what he can do.

Alexis Mac Allister, who is entering into the final two years of his current deal at Anfield, will also be staying put this summer.

With no active talks over a new deal yet for Mac Allister though, midfield could well become more of a priority over the coming 12 months for Liverpool.

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We asked for your views on the potential sale of Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones to Inter Milan.

Here are some of your comments:

John: It's about time. I hope Curtis Jones finds another level abroad. He was always just short of a first-choice player.

Dave: I don't like this business of selling Jones at all. I wish Curtis all the best but such a shame to be losing a very talented local player from the team. I felt he always had the ability to deserve more game time. I guess financial regulations mean it's a 'pure profit' sale, so I understand we may need to offset, but I've never liked that 'pure profit' aspect either, as it encourages sales of home-grown and club-trained players. Similar to what happened with Jarell Quansah, and I think that was a mistake...

Jay: Nice to have a local lad around, but Jones really hit his ceiling a few seasons back. His concentration was his downfall. Too often walking around our 18-yard box and watching the game. Hasn't been able to break into the team and play at a high level consistently. Dominik Szoboszlai coming in and progressing so well has highlighted Jones' limitations. Time to sell before it becomes another contract saga. With John Stones and Djed Spence going to Inter Milan this summer, it's going to be a much easier transition for Curtis. The cash is definitely going towards getting at least one winger from PSG, so all round, a good deal. Good luck to the lad, he's leaving with a sackful of trophies and superb memories.

Jim: Frankly, he wasn't going to get much game time, and although he is a local boy, other than a decent holding midfielder, we have a lot of options in that area of the park. Therefore, any money is good money. Maybe this might finally help us get some of the other mooted deals over the line. It still begs the question of who we have of real quality that is going to fill the homegrown quota though.

Last season: Fifth.

This season: Third.

Andoni Iraola has arrived from Bournemouth to restore some order after a dismal title defence last season.

The start of the post-Mohamed Salah era will not be easy, and Iraola's all-out intense style may take time to bed in, but there is still lots of quality in Liverpool's squad and players such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak now know what life at Anfield is all about.

If Bradley Barcola arrives from Paris St-Germain and Rio Ngumoha's rapid progress continues, Liverpool can have a good season.

Young central defenders Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are also potential stars. Spain winger Victor Munoz will provide thrust and pace.

Definitely a top-four place and in contention for trophies.

• Read more of Phil's predictions