Isak, Wirtz and the Weight of Replacing Salah: Liverpool’s Opening Day Reckoning

The Mohamed Salah era is over. After 257 goals, eight years and more memories than we can count, Liverpool begin the 2026-27 season at St James' Park on Sunday without the Egyptian King and without a clear replacement in place. This is genuinely uncharted territory.

For context, this is the first time since 2015 that Liverpool will kick off a campaign without Salah, Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino anywhere near the squad. Between them, that trio scored 488 goals for the club. Filling that void is not a task that falls to one player. It never could be.

The Burden Nobody Can Carry Alone

The numbers around Salah's departure are almost absurd to look at. Ten opening-day Premier League goals, a British record. And now Liverpool begin their season with Cody Gakpo as the highest scorer in the squad with just 50 goals for the club. That gap tells you everything about the size of the challenge ahead.

New boss Andoni Iraola has inherited a squad that cost a fortune to build but has not yet delivered on that promise. Alexander Isak arrived for a British record £125m and scored four times in an injury-disrupted debut season. Florian Wirtz cost a similar fortune, contributed seven goals and ten assists, and was inconsistent for long stretches. Hugo Ekitike showed promise before rupturing his Achilles in April and is unlikely to feature until later in the season.

On paper this is still a squad packed with quality. In reality, Liverpool need that quality to show up starting Sunday.

What We Expect from Isak and Wirtz at Newcastle

Sunday's trip to Newcastle is a fascinating backdrop for Isak specifically. St James' Park is where he scored 62 goals in 109 games and built the reputation that convinced Liverpool to spend big. He returns not as a Geordie hero but as the man who must fill a Salah-shaped hole. The pressure is real, but it is also the kind of stage that defines careers.

Iraola has been clear that Isak is central to his plans and that the link between Isak and Wirtz has looked more fluid in pre-season. We believe that connection is where Liverpool's best attacking play will come from this season. Wirtz is a year into Premier League life and looks better for it. If those two click properly, Liverpool will score plenty of goals.

The likely starting lineup for Sunday sees Gakpo on the left and Rio Ngumoha on the right. Victor Munoz provides an option off the bench. The front line has pace, directness and creativity. What it lacks, at least for now, is the proven Premier League ruthlessness that Salah brought every single week.

The Transfer Window Complicates Everything

Liverpool's pursuit of Bradley Barcola from PSG adds a layer of uncertainty to everything. A deal has not been done, Ekitike is out injured, and the club had a £50m bid for Yankuba Minteh rejected this week. Van Dijk said it himself: the squad needs to be able to compete on four fronts. Right now there are genuine questions about whether it can.

From a betting perspective, Liverpool's title odds have to be viewed through this lens. They finished last season as Premier League champions but this squad, as it stands today, has a thinner margin for error than the one Arne Slot used to win it. If Barcola arrives and Isak hits form, they remain genuine contenders. If the window closes without major reinforcement and the injury issues continue, the gap to Manchester City and Arsenal could narrow quickly.

For Sunday specifically, Liverpool are expected to be slight favourites at Newcastle despite playing away from home. Iraola's teams are known for being well-organised and tactically disciplined, and his Bournemouth sides consistently punched above their weight. That instils some confidence.

Our Call

We fancy Liverpool to get off to a winning start on Sunday, but not convincingly. Newcastle at home is never easy and this Liverpool side is still finding its identity without Salah. A narrow 1-0 or 2-1 win feels right, with Isak being the man most likely to deliver the moment that matters.

Over the course of the season, the smarter Liverpool bet right now is Isak to finish as the club's top scorer at a generous price before the campaign fully gets underway. He has everything to prove, he knows St James' Park better than anyone, and Iraola's belief in him seems genuine. When strikers are playing with a point to prove on a ground where they once thrived, back them.

This Liverpool era without Salah starts now. Sunday will tell us a lot about who is ready to carry it forward.