Liverpool entered 2026/27 in an unusual position. They had spent heavily, added another major attacker and still had a squad full of established internationals, yet the Premier League title market was far less enthusiastic than it had been a year earlier.
Before the season, Liverpool were priced behind Arsenal and Manchester City for the title. Their fifth-place finish in 2025/26, a managerial change and an uncertain start under Andoni Iraola clearly affected that view.
The interesting question is whether the market is giving enough weight to the number of genuine options Liverpool now have once the schedule becomes crowded.
The attack looks very different
Alexander Isak gives Liverpool an established central striker, although he is yet to shine at Anfield. Victor Muñoz has arrived and Bradley Barcola joined from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of August in a deal worth an initial £106 million.
Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha offer further choices. That is a substantial group even after Mo Salah’s departure. Of course, having several forwards does not mean Liverpool have simply replaced Salah. His goals, availability and influence from the right were unusual. Barcola also brings a different profile rather than a direct copy.
What Liverpool have gained is choice. Iraola does not need the same three forwards to carry every league and Champions League match, and that becomes more important once midweek football starts piling up.
Midfield is probably the stronger depth argument
Liverpool have Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and several younger alternatives available in midfield. More important than the number is the variety.
Wirtz can operate high up the pitch, Mac Allister can change his position according to the match, while Szoboszlai and Trey Nyoni give Iraola ways of rotating without completely reshaping the team. This is what useful depth normally looks like during a title race. It is rarely about losing half the squad at once. More often, it is about resting somebody on a Wednesday evening without making Saturday’s starting XI noticeably weaker. Liverpool appear well covered there.
Defence makes the argument harder
This is where simply counting squad members becomes misleading. Liverpool have Virgil van Dijk, Ronald Araújo, Jérémy Jacquet, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez and other defensive options. But Conor Bradley underwent surgery following a significant knee injury, while Giovanni Leoni has been recovering from the ACL injury suffered last season.
Liverpool also lost Ibrahima Konaté, leaving centre-back as a less comfortable area than midfield or attack. That matters in a title market.
Liverpool do not need to have a weak defence for Arsenal or Manchester City to benefit. One or two absences in the wrong positions may be enough to make rotation considerably harder.
Europe will show whether the depth is real
The Champions League is where this squad will properly be tested. Liverpool’s league-phase opponents include Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto and Villarreal among others, and it is safe to say that it is adding demanding midweek matches to an already crowded domestic calendar.
A deep squad looks excellent in August because everybody is available for one game a week. October and November are different. If Liverpool can change two midfielders and an attacker for a European match without seeing a major drop in quality, that depth becomes a genuine title advantage.
If defensive injuries force the same players to keep starting every three or four days, the squad suddenly looks less complete.
The market also has reasons to be cautious
Liverpool’s early results have not exactly encouraged title bettors. A 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on August 29 left them without a win in three, while Iraola has already been dealing with the balance between attacking aggressively and protecting his team when possession is lost.
Bookmakers are therefore not judging the squad sheet alone. They are pricing last season’s fifth-place finish, a new manager, tactical changes, current injuries and the strength of Arsenal and Manchester City.
Bettors comparing those prices may also look at UK licensed sports betting sites reviewed by next.io to see how different operators are assessing the title race. That makes the scepticism understandable.
Liverpool’s advantage may show later
The better case for Liverpool probably comes later in the season. Isak, Barcola, Gakpo, Wirtz, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai do not all need to start every week for their presence to matter. The value comes when somebody is injured, tired or simply needs a night off. By November, that can be worth much more than it appears in September.
So are oddsmakers severely underrating Liverpool’s depth? Probably not yet. The defensive questions are too real, while the team is still adjusting under Iraola. But there is a reasonable argument that the market is paying more attention to Liverpool’s recent results than to what this squad could look like once the new players settle.
The names are there. The title question is whether Iraola can turn enough of them into players he trusts every week.
Who wrote this, what squad is the writer talking about ? We have less players than last year, he talks about whether the level drops when we rest certain players after playing in Europe, the level will drop as the players he brings in are either too inexperienced, not good enough to play at this level. Think the bookies are basing the odds on that.Iraola will need to perform miracles with the squad Hughes has left him to get even close to the top 5
On last season we were poor we lost 19 games conceded 78 goals. Problems in defence, midfield and attack.
The big signings never delivered, what has changed this season. Barcola should give us more pace and goals on the left. Full backs are not good enough how long do have to keep saying the obvious.
Midfield not good enough without the ball, no destroyer, no physical presence. We are vulnerable to the counter. The proof Newcastle and forest already.
We are still waiting on expensive players like wirtz and Isak who haven’t yet lived up to the hype.
Iraola wants to play high intensity football.
So far we haven’t seen any of it, in fact it’s the exact same that slot played. Lots of slow ponderous possession with a suspect defence.
When he has to rotate between champions league, premier league and domestic cups the team will be even weaker.
As Steve nicol said a few weeks ago, this Liverpool team can’t defend, can’t keep clean sheets.
There’s no spine to the team, whatever team is put out, we ship goals.
We won’t win anything, be lucky to get 5th.
If we don’t beat Ipswich Iraola will be under pressure already. Nothing has changed from why we weren’t good enough last season.
Nothing wrong with optimism, but reality bites.
For me it depends on whether one sees a glass half full or a glass half empty here. If we get lucky and ship very few injuries this season, and our players play up to their potential, we could be a surprise package, and compete at or near the top. On the other hand if we ship lots of injuries and players fail to live up to, or near, their potential, like we did last season, we probably won’t make top four. Failure to sign a defensive midfielder with tackling ability reinforces that glass half empty feeling for me, unfortunately! Hope I’m hopelessly wrong!
Liverpool are underrated. I have a feeling it will be an exciting season. Iraola is an energetic coach and needs to work on a plan B. Stubbornly imposing a formation and style on this team will not work. As a talented coach, he has the opportunity, like no other, to prove himself.
Is there a better opportunity than working at a club with a great name and tradition?
With the shield or on the shield. YNWA
Yeah, let’s hope last night’s performance gives our manager and squad the encouragement and confidence that we need to do just what you’ve outlined there Alex. If Iraola can tighten up in midfield and shield the defence a bit more, we could well be a surprise package. He wants to rotate and that offers him the chance to look at different selections and line-ups, which could prove to be a game-changer too.
Yeah, let’s hope last nights performance gives our manager and squad the encouragement and confidence we need to do just what you’ve outlined there Alex. If Iraola can tighten up in midfield and shield the fefence a bit more, jwe could well be a surprise package. He wants to rotate and that offers him the chance to look at different selections and lineup’s, which could prove be a game changer too.