Get excited, it is matchday one of the English Premier League season. In one of the cruelest quirks of the Premier League fixture list, biennial division yo-yo’ers Fulham takes on one of the finest outfits in Europe: Liverpool FC.
This should be a fascinating match featuring a much changed Liverpool squad and a Fulham side in the Premier League without Scott Parker. The West Londoners instead have have Marco Silva, former Everton, Watford and Hull City manager, at the helm for the beginning of the 22/23 season.
LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool outfit has quite a few players with injuries hanging over their heads heading into this season. Let’s start things off with the big names.
The biggest question marks regarding fitness are without a doubt Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota.
Brazilian ‘keeper Alisson has barely been seen this pre-season as he battles an abdominal injury. However, all signs point to the world class shot stopper proving his fitness in time for the kickoff to the 22/23 EPL season. Diogo Jota just signed a lucrative new contract with Liverpool. The deal sees him remain at the club until 2027. Unfortunately for the Portuguese striker, he won’t celebrate signing that new contract on the pitch soon.
Jota is still recovering from a hamstring injury that he aggravated early in pre-season.
Fulham vs Liverpool FYIs
What is the LFC Starting XI Prediction? Go here for that
When is it? Saturday August 6, 2022 12:30 PM UK Time.
Where is it? Craven Cottage, London
Who’s in form? Fulham (-WLWD) Liverpool (WWLWL)
What are the odds? Fulham (+1000) Liverpool (-370) Draw (+500)
After Extra Time Podcast Spotify Apple Podcasts
Naby Keita and Ibrahima Konate are the next players we will touch on. Ibrahima Konate went off with a knee injury in the Reds final friendly against Strasbourg. He is unlikely to see any action at Craven Cottage. Naby Keita is suffering from an illness, and should be available to make the bench for the Fulham match. Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones could be in line to return from their minor injuries, as well.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain has suffered yet another serious injury. It is a bad hamstring strain and gaffer Jurgen Klopp has refused to put a timeline on a potential return for the Ox.
Backup goalie Caoimhin Kelleher is still a few weeks away from returning to training. He is more likely to return to the squad toward the end of August.
STUEYS TWO CENTS
As a Liverpool fan, I am beyond excited about this fixture. I can’t wait for Liverpool to begin their assault on the 2022/23 season. This will be no walk in the park, however. Fulham is a bit of an unknown quantity. If they can bring even a bit of the form that saw them romp home in the Championship last year, this could be one helluva match. One thing is for sure, I’ll be watching!
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He also co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.