Jeff Stelling has backed a quintet of Liverpool players to ‘be better’ under Arne Slot than Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool have been predicted to finish third in the 2024/25 Premier League table by the Opta supercomputer.
Arne Slot is among five new managers in the competition, having taken over from Klopp earlier this summer.
Klopp ended his hugely successful Liverpool spell on a high, clinching the League Cup trophy and Champions League football.
The pressure is now on his successor, who will be doing his utmost in the off-season to get his players ready for the new campaign.
Jeff Stelling backs five Liverpool players to shine under Arne Slot
Several players have already shone under Slot in pre-season, but Jeff Stelling has named five Reds who can go to another level in the coming months.
“I have got Arsenal second, but I haven’t got the winners that you would expect,” Stelling said of the title race on talkSPORT (9.40am, 13 August). “I have gone for Liverpool. They had a bit of a wobble from mid-April last season which cost them.
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“People will make a great deal about them not making any signings. They haven’t made any signings so far, but equally, they haven’t had any significant losses.
“For me, I look at [Jarell] Quansah, he will be better. [Conor] Bradley will be better, [Harvey] Elliott will be better, [Cody] Gakpo will be better, Curtis Jones will be better.”
Can Arne Slot get the best out of every Liverpool player?
It remains to be seen exactly how Slot will line up for his first league match against newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
But Liverpool fans certainly got a great insight into how the Dutchman wants to play football in the club’s pre-season matches.
READ MORE: Everything to know on Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott from his hair to net worth
He enjoyed great success on the pitch, but everyone associated with the Reds will be fully aware that competitive action will be very different.
Young players such as Elliott, Jones, Quansah and Bradley are all likely to feature heavily under the new boss, although not necessarily in starting roles.
That could be the same for the more experienced Gakpo, who will be fighting his fellow attackers for regular minutes this season.
Slot’s task is to get the best out of his entire squad, with the Dutchman also needing to keep his group happy.
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