**Liverpool are gearing up for a first season in the Andoni Iraola era, but fans need to temper their expectations to avoid disappointment.**
I will say it now before the emotion of the season ahead takes its toll, but Liverpool are not going to be Premier League champions in Iraola’s first season.
What Arne Slot achieved in his first season was bordering on miraculous, with the title triumph likely having more to do with the lingering Jurgen Klopp effect.
But there is no such existing effect to suggest Liverpool will win their 21st Premier League title in the next year.
Paul Merson makes Premier League title prediction, and he’s spot on
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Looking at the Premier League season ahead, Paul Merson has made his title prediction, suggesting that Liverpool don’t have the squad depth required to challenge Arsenal’s crown.
_“I look at their squad and I don’t see them having the same depth as Arsenal,”_ Merson told [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/15205/13574632/paul-mersons-premier-league-season-preview-who-wins-title-and-finishes-in-top-five-and-who-are-relegation-contenders).
_“Liverpool’s players would have to stay fit for them to have any chance of the title — the key players would have to play 36 or 37 games in the season._
_“They still haven’t replaced Mohamed Salah. A lot of goals have gone missing. He wasn’t on it last season but he was still a threat, and Andoni Iraola still needs someone to come in and fill that gap._
_“Liverpool’s midfield wasn’t great last year but I expect Florian Wirtz to have a better season, 100 per cent._
_“I thought it would take time for him to get settled in this league, but he’s had a season now. If he doesn’t get going this season, you start worrying._
_“But Alexander Isak was so up and down with injury last season, they couldn’t really get him on the pitch. I don’t know if he’s going to need to take a bit more time, so I don’t know about his levels this season.”_
Liverpool could challenge but I doubt they will have the staying power to go all the way
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Not only is Liverpool’s squad depth questionable, but the increase in demands placed on the players under Andoni Iraola compared to Arne Slot will be considerable.
Slot’s passive football might have been ineffective, but if the fitness levels weren’t as badly neglected as they were under the Dutchman, Liverpool likely wouldn’t have suffered that many injuries last season.
Under Iraola, however, there will be a greater need for rotation.
However, the squad depth doesn’t look strong enough to contend with what is shaping up to be a brutally demanding first season under the Spaniard.