Liverpool will hope to hit the ground running in the defence of their Premier League title when they host Bournemouth, live on talkSPORT.
The reigning champions kick off the new top-flight season on Friday, looking to bounce back from their Community Shield defeat.
The Reds fell to a 3-2 defeat on penalties to Crystal Palace at Wembley after an exciting draw in which they twice took the lead.
Arne Slot has demanded improvement, and he will be hoping his flurry of summer spending leads to further success.
In total, Liverpool have splashed out over £250million on Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, and Milos Kerkez.
All four of whom started against Palace, with Frimpong and Ekitike both opening their competitive goalscoring accounts for the club.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth have been forced into a rebuild themselves after an impressive 2024/25 campaign, where they finished ninth.
Illia Zabarnyi is expected to be the latest high-profile exit after Kerkez joined Liverpool and Dean Huijsen was sold to Real Madrid.
Liverpool team news
The home side offered a look into how Slot wants his team to set-up this season with the starting XI he chose for the Community Shield.
Ryan Gravenberch was absent from the curtain-raiser after becoming a father, but will again be missing here through suspension.
Premier League opening weekend schedule
Friday, August 15
- Liverpool vs Bournemouth – 8pm, live on talkSPORT
Saturday, August 16
- Aston Villa vs Newcastle – 12:30pm, live on talkSPORT
- Brighton v Fulham – 3pm
- Sunderland vs West Ham – 3pm
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley – 3pm
- Wolves vs Manchester City – 5:30pm
Sunday, August 17
- Chelsea vs Crystal Palace – 2pm
- Nottingham Forest vs Brentford – 2pm
- Manchester United vs Arsenal – 4:30pm
Monday, August 18
- Leeds United vs Everton – 8pm, live on talkSPORT
Why is Gravenberch suspended against Bournemouth?
The Dutch international joined from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023 but became a mainstay under compatriot Slot last year.
Gravenberch started all but one of Liverpool’s Premier League matches en route to winning the title.
However, the 23-year-old is serving a one-match ban, having been sent off against Crystal Palace on the final day of last season.
The midfielder was given a straight red card for bringing down Daichi Kamada during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with the Eagles in May.
As his offence wasn’t for violent conduct, Gravenberch will serve a one-game ban, with this being his next competitive domestic fixture.
How will Liverpool line-up against Bournemouth?
Alisson will start in goal, with new signing Giorgi Mamardashvili on the bench, as part of the same defence Slot picked against Palace.
Conor Bradley faces a race against time to be included in Friday’s matchday squad, having missed the last three friendlies.
The Northern Ireland international’s recent injury history means he won’t be rushed back into the starting XI over Frimpong.
Similarly, Joe Gomez‘s latest fitness issue will see Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk continue at the heart of the defence.
Andy Robertson is the only realistic change Liverpool boss Slot may consider if he wants to shore up his backline with more experience.
But it would be harsh on Kerkez to drop him in reaction to the Community Shield, especially coming up against his former side.
With no Gravenberch in midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai will continue in his deeper midfield position, with Wirtz operating in the No.10 role.
The Hungarian partnered Curtis Jones at Wembley, but Slot will hope Alexis Mac Allister will be fit enough to start on Friday.
The Ballon d’Or nominee’s minutes have been carefully managed this summer after picking up an injury at the end of the last campaign.
Speaking ahead of the Community Shield, Slot said: “He was out for two months I think, or longer because we didn’t play him in the last four games of the season.
“He trained with us since a week now, played 30 minutes, 45 minutes.
“So that’s not a situation where you would start a player [and] play him for 90 minutes. Starting is possible but definitely not for 90 minutes.”
After another 20-minute cameo on Sunday, Mac Allister may now finally be restored to Liverpool’s starting midfield.
Following the sales of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, the front three picks itself, with Ekitike flanked by Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.
Bournemouth predicted XI vs Liverpool
Zabarnyi won’t be involved this week as he completes the final stages of his £57m move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The visitors have already lined up his replacement, having agreed a deal in principle worth £34m for Lille defender Bafode Diakite.
The 24-year-old will become the club’s third signing of the summer after left-back Adrien Truffert and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
The trio will shape Bournemouth’s new-look defence at Anfield, with Adam Smith and Marcos Senesi retaining their spots.
The latter could find himself joined at centre-back by Julian Araujo or Chris Mepham, should Diakite’s move not be completed in time.
Diakite is yet to receive his shirt number at Bournemouth, but the No.18 he wore at Lille is currently vacant at the Vitality Stadium.
The club’s former user of that shirt, Tyler Adams, is likely to line-up here as well, with Lewis Cook still nursing a knee injury.
Both the American and Hamed Traore each started one of Bournemouth’s doubleheader against Real Sociedad on Saturday.
As such, the duo are expected to form the base of Andoni Iraola’s midfield, with Marcus Tavernier among the options at No.10.
Justin Kluivert is still working his way back from an issue he sustained in Bournemouth’s first pre-season game against Hibernian.
Meanwhile, Ryan Christie and Luis Sinisterra have not featured in any of the club’s friendlies but are closing in on respective returns.
Antoine Semenyo will start out wide, fresh from the new five-year contract he signed in July, with David Brooks on the right wing.
Enes Unal remains in the treatment room, having suffered a serious knee injury last season, meaning Evanilson will lead the line.
What time does Liverpool vs Bournemouth kick-off?
Kick-off at Anfield is set for 8pm and talkSPORT will have exclusive radio coverage of the action presented by Adrian Durham.
Commentary will come from Joe Shennan and former England striker Dean Ashton.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
talkSPORT.com will also be running a live blog with updates of all the action.