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Liverpool started last season with a swagger of champions and many had them earmarked to defend their Premier League title successfully.
However, a spectacular implosion at the turn of the new year saw them spiral down the table and a campaign that promised so much ended with a top-four finish being celebrated.
Nevertheless, the Reds still have enough quality players within their ranks and are still among the forerunners to claim the Premier League title next season.
Liverpool's pre-season has not exactly been top-notch, with consecutive 1-1 draws against Wacker Innsbruck and Stuttgart before a last-gasp own goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Mainz.
Three more pre-season friendlies are lined up against Hertha Berlin, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna respectively before the Merseyside giants travel to take on Norwich in their Premier League opener.
Here are five Liverpool players to watch out for in the rest of the pre-season schedule.
#5 Ibrahima Konate
Ibrahima Konate joined Liverpool this summer after four stellar seasons with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. The 22-year-old was brought in to add steel to the center of defense after an injury-ravaged campaign that saw the Reds struggle defensively.
With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez not yet ready for a return to action, Konate has to hit the ground running to stand a chance of becoming a mainstay in the starting lineup from the very start.
So far, he has started each of the last two pre-season fixtures against Stuttgart and Mainz. He will hope to build on that in the rest of pre-season.
#4 Divock Origi
Divock Origi's UEFA Champions League heroics in 2019 guaranteed him immortality in the annals of Liverpool folklore. Other than that, the 26-year-old has not done too much of a note in his seven-year Anfield career.
He has seen players like Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk join the club and become bonafide legends, while Diogo Jota is also ahead of him in the attacking pecking order.
The coming season is a defining one for Origi at Liverpool and could yet be his last chance to become a key man at the club.
In light of that, the Belgium international will be keen to put his best foot forward in pre-season. He has already started well by putting Liverpool ahead in their eventual 1-1 draw with Wacker Innsbruck.
#3 Takumi Minamino
Takumi Minamino joined Liverpool from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020. His impressive performance across both legs of a UEFA Champions League fixture against the Reds a few months earlier had been the perfect audition.
Things did not, however, go to plan for the former Cerezo Osaka man as he struggled for playing time at Anfield. A half-season loan spell at Southampton hardly helped matters and feelers from Liverpool's camp suggest the club would be open to letting him leave this summer.
A positive pre-season performance could change Jurgen Klopp's mind and Minamino will have to considerably step up his output to save his Liverpool future.
#2 Harvey Elliot
Harvey Elliot is regarded as the future of Liverpool's midfield. After a season-long loan spell with Blackburn where he furthered his development and gained regular playing time in the Championship, he is back and ready to claim a place in Klopp's side.
Elliot had a meteoric rise in the Fulham youth set-up and went on to break several records in what was a stunning start to his professional career.
Liverpool are supposed to be a stepping stone to the next stage of his fledgling career and the 18-year-old has the quality to fight for a place in the starting lineup.
How he performs for the rest of pre-season will go a long way in determining whether he is blooded with the first-team or sent out on another loan to further his development.
#1 Mo Salah
Mohamed Salah has been Liverpool's talisman ever since he joined the club from AS Roma in the summer of 2017.
The Egypt international has performed with unbelievable consistency. He has been one of the key figures in helping the club reclimb to the summit of the domestic and continental game.
Salah was one of a handful of Liverpool players that emerged from last season with some credit. He maintained his high standards despite most of his teammates struggling around him.
The goalscoring burden will once again be on the 29-year-old heading into the new campaign. If Liverpool are to reclaim glory, Salah's performance will go a long way in helping them attain it.
So far, the former Chelsea man has failed to find the back of the net in any of the two pre-season fixtures, which is surprising considering his high standards.
However, Salah still has enough armory in his arsenal to make the rest of his pre-season campaign a success.
Also See: Five Arsenal players to watch during pre-season
