Liverpool will visit Fulham at Craven Cottage for their first match in the Premier League 2022/23 campaign.
The Cottagers scored an astounding 106 goals last season on their way to winning the Championship and will be hoping Aleksandar Mitrovic, who finished the campaign with 50 goal contributions, continues his fiery form.
Fulham have also made a few permanent additions in João Palhinha, Kevin Mbabu, Andreas Pereira and Bernd Leno. Their first game after a year of absence from the Premier League will also reunite two players with their former clubs.
Harry Wilson left Liverpool for Fulham last year, helping them to the title, and is a fan favourite at Craven Cottage. Fabio Carvalho went the other way early in the current transfer window and has already found his place in Liverpool’s squad.
Fulham will, however, face one of the hardest oppositions in the Premier League with Liverpool. Liverpool had a tally of 92 points last season, missing out by a single point to the brilliance of Manchester City.
Both teams have shown a relentless winning mentality in the last few seasons and are expected to continue their form once again this campaign.
Liverpool Predicted Starting Lineup
1️⃣ day to go… 🤩 pic.twitter.com/qVyqCrtlQN
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 5, 2022
How Liverpool Have Lined Up Recently
Liverpool played Manchester City in the Community Shield with Adrian in goal. They played a back four of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk and Andrew Robertson. Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara occupied the midfield and the attack was led by Luiz Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool have rarely altered their formation in the recent past. They play a 4-3-3 with a very high defensive line and both full-backs remaining high up the field when in possession.
Liverpool have replaced Sadio Mane, who made a transfer to Bayern Munich, with Darwin Nunez, a more traditional centre-forward from Benefica. The transfer is potentially Liverpool’s biggest at £85 million if all the clauses are met.
Considering his match-winning performance against Manchester City in the FA Community Shield, he is likely to feature. However, Jurgen Klopp in his press conference has suggested Firmino may keep his place in the starting lineup.
Team Injuries to Consider
Liverpool have a glut of injuries to deal with but none that may force a change to the starting lineup.
Alisson is expected to be fit for the trip to Craven Cottage and Naby Keita may be fit again after illness. Others on the injured list are Diogo Jota (thigh), Caiomhin Kelleher (hip), Kostas Tsimikas (knock), Ibrahima Konate (knock), Curtis Jones (unspecified) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been ruled out with a serious hamstring injury.
Predicted Liverpool Starting Lineup
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Luiz Diaz
Current Odds: Fulham v Liverpool
Sky Bet predicts the odds at 9/1 for a win to Fulham, 9/2 for a draw and 2/7 for Liverpool to win.
