Last Season – Finished 4th in the Premier League – 76pts
Manager – Rafael Benitez
Odds of Winning Title: 6-to-1

INS:
ST Robbie Keane – 40m US
ST David Ngog – 3m US
RB Emmanuel Mendy – FREE
GK Diego Cavalieri – 6m US
FW Vincent Lucas Weijl
LB Andrea Dossena – 14m US
RB Philip Degen – FREE

OUTS:
GK Scott Carson
MF Danny Guthrie
ST Peter Crouch
FW Anthony LaTellec
LB John Arne Riise
LW Harry Kewell

Possibles:
ST David Villa – Valencia
LMF Gareth Barry – Aston Villa
MF Joao Moutinho – Sporting Lisbon
GK Antti Niemi – Fulham
ST Mario Balotelli – Inter Milan
LW Stewart Downing – Middlesbrough
MF Michael Johnson – Manchester City
WG James Milner – Newcastle
LMF Albert Riera – Espanyol
MF David Silva – Valencia

What’s Left in the Kitty – About 13.5m US

What Lies Ahead:
Aug 16 Sunderland (A)
Aug 23 Middlesbrough (H)
Aug 30 Aston Villa (A)
Sep 13 Manchester United (H)
Sep 20 Stoke City (H)
Sep 27 Everton (A)
Oct 4 Manchester City (A)

Possible Starting XI:
GK Jose Reina
RB Steve Finnan/Alvaro Arbeloa
CB Jamie Carragher
CB Daniel Agger/Martin Skrtel
LB Andrea Dossena/Fabio Aurelio
MF Javier Mascherano
MF Xabi Alonso
RMF Robbie Keane/Dirk Kuyt
AMF Steven Gerrard
LMF Ryan babel
FW Fernando Torres

How They’ll Stack Up:
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has done a good job improving his squad from last season and certainly the prospects are very promising for this season.  No silverware last year but the young players showed signs of improvement and Fernando Torres emerged as one of Europe’s finest frontmen.  Now they’ve added Robbie Keane to the mix and if they can find the cash – perhaps Gareth Barry.  I’m going to take an aside here on the Barry thing – Liverpool now look like complete idiots because they cannot finance a deal for him.  Benitez wants him but the American ownership won’t pony up – and again their manager is left with egg on his face after saying he would sign Barry.  And the Liverpool farce continues….and if it carries over onto the park (which I hope it doesn’t), it could be another trophy-less season at Anfield.  Reds need to start quickly – something they’ve struggled to do under Benitez – while coping with some absences.  They also need to secure their spot in the group stages of the Champions League – they need to be focused on the tasks at hand and not distracted by off-field matters.  In terms of the alignment Benitez will use – it looks like a 4-2-3-1 without Barry – and if he DOES arrive, it might go more like a 3-5-2.  As it stands – Keane will help provide width alongside Gerrard with Babel on the left and Torres alone up front.  It’s a formidable attack that should score a ton of goals.  Liverpool’s biggest problem over the past few seasons is they give points away versus lesser teams.  Turning some of those draws into wins is what’s needed here if they are to challenge for the title.  And make no mistake – without a title challenge, this WILL be Benitez’s last season in charge.  I don’t see them breaking the top two but they could move up one spot - and a deep run into Europe could save Benitez.  But I don’t think so – Liverpool stay 4th and Benitez is gone….Perhaps before the end of the season.

Coming up Wednesday - Arsenal