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The Premier League is back, and Liverpool gets the 2025/26 show underway later as Arne Slot’s side begins its title defense against Bournemouth at Anfield.
After a busy summer - which is still ongoing - that has seen nearly $400 million spent on new signings, the new-look Reds will be aiming to make the perfect start in their quest for back-to-back titles, and live up to their tag as favorites among many pundits.
Of course, it won’t be an easy ride, and the Community Shield showed there is still work to do for Slot and his team if they are to beat the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City once again this season.
There were promising signs at Wembley though, and the longer this new-look side spends together, the closer they should bring themselves to more success this season.
For the first outing of the new season, Slot’s team would appear to be fairly easy to predict. We’ve been able to get a good sense of what his strongest team is through pre-season, and we would expect the Community Shield to be the base for the rest of the campaign, despite the defeat on penalties.
Therefore, it’s as you were. Alisson Becker retains his usual spot in goal, even with Giorgi Mamardashvili now on board, while captain Virgil van Dijk partners Ibrahima Konate in defense.
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Jeremie Frimpong starts at right-back with Conor Bradley likely to be out injured, while Milos Kerkez keeps his place at left-back as he comes up against his old team. There is perhaps an argument for Andy Robertson to be given the nod, given what we’ve seen so far this summer, but we’ll give Kerkez a bit more time to settle in for now.
Midfield poses perhaps the biggest question mark due to Alexis Mac Allister’s fitness. The Argentine will no doubt feature today, it’s just a question of whether he starts or comes off the bench at some point.
Having only played around 20 minutes at Wembley, the feeling is that he is still being eased back. Therefore, we’d expect Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones to start again as the two deeper-lying midfielders.
Florian Wirtz should make his Premier League debut today, and will hopefully prove his doubters wrong amid some ridiculous takes from rival supporters after his performances in pre-season.
Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo take up their usual places on either wing, supporting Hugo Ekitike up front, who will be aiming to add to his goal at Wembley as he looks to show he can be Liverpool’s main threat amid the ongoing Alexander Isak saga.
Predicted Liverpool team vs Bournemouth: Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike.
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