For the first time since the 1990-91 season, Liverpool go into the upcoming campaign as defending champions of the English top flight.

Jurgen Klopp's side shattered records galore on their way to Premier League glory last term, and the challenge for them now is to defend the crown they waited so long to win.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the Reds ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.

How did they fare last season?

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Spectacularly.

After 30 years of waiting, Liverpool finally claimed their 19th top-flight title and their first of the Premier League era, and they did it in record-breaking fashion too.

Incredibly, Jurgen Klopp's side won 26 of their opening 27 games, dropping only two points (away to bitter rivals Manchester United) from the first 81 on offer - a start the like of which has never been seen before and may never be seen again.

Including the end of the 2018-19 campaign, Liverpool equalled the top-flight record of 18 successive wins before their draw at Old Trafford and then did it again, chalking up 18 league victories on the bounce before their hopes of an Invincible season came to a shuddering halt at Watford on February 29.

The coronavirus-enforced lockdown at one stage threatened what from relatively early in the season looked like an inevitable title triumph, but they eventually wrapped things up on June 25 when Chelsea beat Manchester City.

Liverpool still had seven games of the season remaining at that stage - the quickest any club has ever won the title - and they finally got their hands on the trophy almost a month later after beating Chelsea 5-3 in their final home game of an unforgettable campaign.

The all-time points record ultimately eluded them as they finished on 99 points - a club record but one short of Manchester City's 100-point tally two years earlier - but they did shatter a host of other records throughout the campaign including most consecutive home wins (24) and biggest lead over second place at any stage (25 points).

Liverpool's tally of most wins and most home wins also equalled the top-flight records, while their 44-game unbeaten run prior to their loss at Watford is the second-longest in English top-flight history.

While their Premier League campaign was undoubtedly the jewel in the crown of the season, Liverpool also won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to become the first English team to complete the international treble, having won the Champions League in 2018-19.

For such an incredible campaign, the only disappointments came in eliminations from the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup, but the Premier League was the one they wanted more than any other and a first title since 1990 ensured that it was a season that will go down in Liverpool and English football history.

Biggest improvement needed

Go further in the FA Cup.

It would be a remarkable achievement if Liverpool improve on their Premier League performance last season, so the progress may lie in getting additional silverware in their trophy cabinet.

The Reds did reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup last season and were only eliminated when they played their Under-23 side while the senior team were at the FIFA Club World Cup, while they have also reached the semi-finals and final of the EFL Cup under Klopp.

However, the German boss has never got past the fifth round in the FA Cup and, while that will certainly not be their priority this season, it is an underwhelming record for a team which has been in such good form elsewhere.

Manager: Jurgen Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp's arrival at Liverpool in 2015 just felt like a perfect match, with immediate comparisons being drawn with the legendary Bill Shankly.

Having upset the Bayern Munich monopoly in the Bundesliga and led Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final, the charismatic 53-year-old appeared to have all of the attributes to restore Liverpool to their former glories both domestically and in Europe.

So it has proved to be the case; in his four full seasons at the helm Klopp has finished in the top four every time, as runners-up once and as champions last season, in addition to winning the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

Liverpool have now won as many trophies in the last two seasons as they had managed in the previous 13 combined.

Key player: Virgil van Dijk

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There are plenty of players who could lay claim to this title - Jordan Henderson's absence was keenly felt whenever he missed out last season, while the Reds also look like a different team when Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Alisson Becker, Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah do not play.

However, Virgil van Dijk is arguably the most irreplaceable of the lot and he was the cornerstone of their title success last term, playing every single minute.

The centre-back is widely regarded as the best defender in world football and his impact on the Liverpool team since joining cannot be overstated.

Summer transfer business

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In
Kostas Tsimikas (£11.7m, Olympiacos)
Thiago Alcantara (£19.8m, Bayern Munich)
Diogo Jota (£40.2m, Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Out
Nathaniel Clyne (free, Crystal Palace)
Adam Lallana (free, Brighton & Hove Albion)
Dejan Lovren (£10.8m, Zenit St Petersburg)
Andy Lonergan (released)
Morgan Boyes (loan, Fleetwood Town)
Adam Lewis (loan, Amiens)
Ovie Ejaria (£3.5m, Reading)
Shamal George (free, Colchester United)
Kai McKenzie-Lyle (free, Cambridge United)
Isaac Christie-Davies (free, Barnsley)
Sheyi Ojo (loan, Cardiff City)
Ki-Jana Hoever (£8.8m, Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Taiwo Awoniyi (loan, Union Berlin)
Kamil Grabara (loan, AGF Aarhus)
Loris Karius (loan, Union Berlin)
Rhian Brewster (£23.5m, Sheffield United)
Marko Grujic (loan, Porto)
Ben Woodburn (loan, Blackpool)
Harry Wilson (loan, Cardiff City)
Herbie Kane (£1.3m, Barnsley)
Harvey Elliott (loan, Blackburn Rovers)

Liverpool total spent to date: £71.7m
Liverpool total received to date: £47.8m

Liverpool net transfer balance: -£24.9m

Squad

1. Alisson Becker (GK)
3. Fabinho (MF)
4. Virgil van Dijk (DF)
5. Georginio Wijnaldum (MF)
7. James Milner (MF)
8. Naby Keita (MF)
9. Roberto Firmino (FW)
10. Sadio Mane (FW)
11. Mohamed Salah (FW)
12. Joe Gomez (DF)
13. Adrian (GK)
14. Jordan Henderson (MF)
15. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (MF)
16. Marko Grujic (MF)
17. Curtis Jones (MF)
18. Takumi Minamino (FW)
21. Kostas Tsimikas (DF)
22. Loris Karius (GK)
23. Xherdan Shaqiri (MF)
24. Rhian Brewster (FW)
26. Andrew Robertson (DF)
27. Divock Origi (FW)
32. Joel Matip (DF)
47. Nathaniel Phillips (DF)
51. Ki-Jana Hoever (DF)
58. Ben Woodburn (MF)
59. Harry Wilson (MF)
62. Caoimhin Kelleher (GK)
66. Trent Alexander-Arnold (DF)
67. Harvey Elliott (MF)
72. Sepp van den Berg (DF)
73. Kamil Grabara (GK)
76. Neco Williams (DF)
- Taiwo Awoniyi (FW)

Possible starting XI

Fixture list

Liverpool's title defence gets off to a tricky start in September, welcoming what is sure to be a fired-up Leeds United side to Anfield in their opening game before back-to-back matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Reds also have an away Merseyside derby in their fifth outing, while the first showdown with expected title rivals Manchester City comes at the Etihad Stadium on November 7.

The champions do not play bitter rivals Manchester United until January 16, with the reverse fixture at the start of May, while February could be an important month with Man City, Leicester City and Everton in succession.

It does look like a relatively kind finish to the season, though, with Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and Crystal Palace as their final four games.

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SEPTEMBER

12: Leeds (h)

19: Chelsea (a)

26: Arsenal (h)

OCTOBER

3: Aston Villa (a)

17: Everton (a)

24: Sheffield United (h)

31: West Ham (h)

NOVEMBER

7: Man City (a)

21: Leicester (h)

28: Brighton (a)

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DECEMBER

5: Wolves (h)

12: Fulham (a)

16: Tottenham (h)

19: Crystal Palace (a)

26: West Brom (h)

28: Newcastle (a)

JANUARY

2: Southampton (a)

13: Burnley (h)

16: Man Utd (h)

27: Tottenham (a)

30: West Ham (a)

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FEBRUARY

3: Brighton (h)

6: Man City (h)

13: Leicester (a)

20: Everton (h)

27: Sheffield United (a)

MARCH

6: Fulham (h)

13: Wolves (a)

20: Chelsea (h)

APRIL

3: Arsenal (a)

10: Aston Villa (h)

17: Leeds (a)

24: Newcastle (h)

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MAY

1: Man Utd (a)

8: Southampton (h)

11: West Brom (a)

15: Burnley (a)

23: Crystal Palace (h)

Prediction: 1st

It is hard to look past a team that won the title by 18 points last season, and at one stage sat an unprecedented 25 points clear of their closest challengers.

The likelihood of Liverpool reaching the same relentless heights as they did in 2019-20 is slim and they will be expecting a much more competitive title race this time around, but with 196 points in the last two seasons combined they are bound to be a force again.

For the second summer in a row Liverpool have not made any major changes to their squad at the time of writing, but they will be banking on the fact that Man City have not done enough to make up 18 points either.