Liverpool’s Premier League season kicks off on Saturday when they travel to Craven Cottage to face newly promoted Fulham.
The Reds are no strangers to facing a newly promoted side on the first day of the season. In the last three seasons, they’ve faced Norwich twice and Leeds once, and they’ve won both times.
The Reds are heavy favorites in this game, but in games like this, performance sometimes matters more than the result.
There’s a lot of talk about how Liverpool will line up for this game. Will Darwin Nunez start the season’s first game? Does Joe Gomez return to the team after signing a new contract? What will Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott’s roles be this season?
These are all pressing questions, so we’ve attempted to predict Liverpool’s starting XI for this game.
Jurgen Klopp is expected to make three changes from the team that defeated Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Alisson Becker returns in goal after recovering from a short-term injury, while the back four remains unchanged from the game at the King Power Stadium.
The midfield has changed.
Thiago Alcantara’s fitness will be crucial this season, and while he’d probably prefer to start the first game, it’s fair to say that Liverpool can beat Fulham without fielding their strongest XI.
As a result, we believe Harvey Elliott will start alongside Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. Remember, Elliott was starting almost every week before his injury last season, and we expect him to slot back in here.
Darwin Nunez has been tipped to start ahead of Roberto Firmino in this one, while Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah complete what is sure to be a front three with which we have become very familiar.
