Liverpool FC kick off the 2020/21 Premier League campaign on Saturday against Leeds United at Anfield.
Liverpool commence the regular season having won three of their four fixtures in the pre-season, with the only loss coming on penalties to Arsenal in the Community Shield.
FYIs
Kickoff: 12:30pm ET, TV Channel: NBCSN
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com, Odds via Betway, Liverpool 1/4, Leeds 9/1, Draw 11/2
LFC Starting XI Prediction: go here
LFC Season Preview: go here
Right back Trent Alexander-Arnold is fully fit for the Reds after having had a minor issue during the pre-season, one that kept him out of Liverpool’s training camp. However, he played 80+ minutes for England against Iceland this week and said he feels ready to go for Saturday.
New summer signing Kostas Tsimikas will miss the game after testing positive for COVID-19 while on international duty with Greece.
A majority of the questions for the Reds in this game will come in the midfield. Team Capt. Jordan Henderson returned to full training this week from a knee injury, and he will be a game-time decision. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered a knee injury in the pre-season and will miss the opening weeks of the season.
Xherdan Shaqiri returned to training Thursday, however he is still expected to miss the game due to an unknown injury. The Swiss international missed all of Liverpool’s warm-up games and didn’t travel to be with the team in Switzerland during the international break.
One player who will be available in the midfield though is Gini Wijnaldum.
The Dutchman has been linked with a move to Barcelona, but the Spanish club have yet to make a formal offer for the player.
Also, in case you missed it, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, in defense of his club’s minimal spending this summer transfer window, hit out at the free-spending ways of both Manchester City and Chelsea.
“Clubs are in different situations and we are living in uncertainty in the world,” Klopp said.
“For some clubs it seems to be less important how uncertain the future is because they are owned by countries, owned by oligarchs, and that is the truth. We are a different kind of club.”
“We reached the Champions League final two years ago, won it the following year and won the Premier League by being the club we are.”
The “oligarch” comment refers to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich while the “country” refers to Manchester City’s ownership, which is controlled by the royal family of Abu Dhabi, the rulers of the United Arab Emirates.
Both clubs have engaged in big summer spending, while Tsimikas is the Reds’ only new acquisition this window.