Liverpool begin their Premier League title defence against Bournemouth in the season opener on Friday night at Anfield.
Arne Slot's side are favourites to repeat their league-title winning heroics from last season, having invested heavily in the transfer window. The likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez have come in, and a reported £26m deal for Giovanni Leoni, an 18-yr-old defender from Parma, is set to take Liverpool's spending above £300m this summer.
The pursuits of Alexander Isak and Marc Guehi could push that amount beyond £400m although Liverpool's net-spend remains healthy due to sizeable fees earned from the sales of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Jarrell Quansah, Caoimhín Kelleher and Trent-Alexander Arnold.
The club also have to deal with the tragic death of Diogo Jota, with every Premier League game this weekend set to have a moment of silence for the forward.
Liverpool's preseason campaign saw them defeat Preston and Athletic Club, but lose to AC Milan. It culminated in the FA Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace (on penalties) last Sunday, which saw Ekitike and Frimpong score their first competitive goals for the club.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, will be hoping to improve on their ninth-placed finish from last season, although Andoni Iraola has a tough task this season having lost three of his four-man backline in Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Kerkez. The club have dipped into Ligue 1 for highly-rated replacements in Adrien Truffert and Bafodé Diakité, with Djordje Petrovic coming in from Chelsea to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal.
A six-match pre-season saw Bournemouth defeat the likes of Everton, Bristol City and Hibernian while losing to Manchester United and West Ham, with a goalless draw against Real Sociedad in thier most recent outing.
It isn't ideal preparation for a trip to Anfield, with Bournemouth last having avoided defeat at the stadium in 2017. Of the thirteen games to take place between the two clubs since, Liverpool have won twelve. Bourmemouth can take some succour from the fact that the goalscorers from their last trip to Anfield (a 0-3 loss) -- Diaz and Nunez -- are no longer at Liverpool.
Here is everything you need to know about Friday's match.
How to watch:
The match will be available Sky Sports in the UK, NBC Sports in the U.S., JioHotstar in India, Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Friday, August 15 at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET; 12.30 a.m. IST, Saturday and 5 a.m. AEST, Saturday).
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
VAR: Michael Oliver.
Team News
Liverpool
Ryan Gravenberch, M: suspended
Conor Bradley, D: muscle, doubt
Joe Gomez, D: achilles, doubt
Stefan Bajcetic, M: hamstring, est. return late August
Arne Slot believes the arrival of Jeremie Frimpong will bring the best out of Mohamed Salah.
AFC Bournemouth
Justin Kluivert, M: calf, doubt
Luis Sinisterra, F: hamstring, doubt
Ryan Christie, M: groin, doubt
Enes Ünal, F: ACL, est. return early October
Predicted XIs
Liverpool (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson Becker
RB: Jeremie Frimpong | CB: Virgil van Dijk | CB: Ibrahima Konaté | LB: Milos Kerkez
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai | CDM: Alexis Mac Allister | AM: Florian Wirtz
RW: Mohamed Salah | CF: Hugo Ekitike | LW: Cody Gakpo
Bournemouth (4-2-3-1)
GK: Djordje Petrovic
RB: Julián Araujo | CB: Bafodé Diakité | CB: Marcos Senesi | LB: Adrien Truffert
CDM: Tyler Adams | CDM: David Brooks
RW: Antoine Semenyo | CAM: Marcus Tavernier | LW: Dango Ouattara
CF: Eli Junior Kroupi
Stats:
Liverpool have won their last five games against Bournemouth, scoring 14 and conceding two. Of the players who scored those fourteen goals, only Salah (3) and Gakpo (1) are still at the club.
Liverpool have not lost an opening match in the last twelve seasons, the longest run of any Premier League club. Bournemouth have not lost an opening match in their last seven seasons.
Alisson Becker is set to make his 300th appearance for Liverpool, the first goalkeeper to do so since Pepe Reina.
Mohammed Salah holds the Premier League record for most goals (9) and most goal involvements (14) on the opening weekend. An assist against Bournemouth will draw him level with Paul Pogba for most assists (6).
No player has scored more Premier League goals against Bournemouth than Salah (11). Salah (105, Anfield) could equal Sergio Aguero's (106, Etihad Stadium) tally of goals scored at a single venue -- only Thierry Henry has more (114, Highbury).
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