(Football news) As it has been in recent history, Liverpool will begin their new Premier League campaign with yet another newly promoted side in Fulham at Craven Cottage. Both teams have big ambitions this season as Liverpool will look to go one step further and win the league this season while Fulham will hope to remain in England’s top flight after an impressive campaign in the Championship. The Cottagers have had a good transfer window, signing the likes of Joao Palhinha from Sporting Lisbon as well as Manor Solomon, Kevin Mbabu, Bernd Leno and Andreas Pereira.
In pre-season, Fulham defeated Nice and Estoril while also holding Spanish side Villarreal to a draw. They face a big test against Liverpool and will be required to be defensively solid, having lost each of their five opening-day top-flight encounters the season after their promotion. The last time that they were in the Premier League during the 2020-21 season, Fulham couldn’t win a single game in their last 10 matches (losing eight and drawing two). As for Liverpool, the Reds have already defeated Manchester City in the Community Shield after a mixed pre-season but they remain unbeaten in the Premier League in 19 games.
In team news, Fulham’s Harry Wilson is out with a knee injury for two months while Joe Bryan's hand is broken. Nathaniel Chalobah is also injured but details about it are unspecified while new loan signing Solomon was only registered this Monday and might not be match fit for this fixture. The likes of Leno, Mbabu, Palhinha and Pereira could be handed their competitive debuts today while Mitrovic is expected to lead the line.
Liverpool are also in somewhat of an injury crisis as Diogo Jota, Caoimhin Kelleher and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be unavailable for selection for this fixture. Jurgen Klopp ruled out Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones in his pre-game press conference while Naby Keita is ill. Allison Becker will start in goal and Klopp will have a decision to make between Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez for the striker’s position. Despite the number of players unavailable, Liverpool are expected to comfortably secure the three points in this fixture.
In the other major fixture today, Everton will welcome Chelsea to Goodison Park in a clash between two teams that have a lot to prove. Everton finished 16th last season while Chelsea finished third, five points ahead of Arsenal. The Toffees have only signed three players in the transfer market so far with James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil and Ruben Vinagre joining the squad. Despite Everton manager Frank Lampard’s association with Chelsea, he will be hoping for a win for his team ahead of a run of relatively less challenging fixtures this month.
As for Chelsea, they have signed four players so far, bringing in Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney Chukwuemeka and Gabriel Slonina. The Blues are yet to sign a striker as Romelu Lukaku has returned to Inter Milan on loan while defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have left the club as free agents. It’s important for Chelsea to secure the three points against Everton as they next match is against Tottenham which will undoubtedly be a tricky fixture.
In team news, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin is sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury while Yerry Mina is available for selection. Salomon Rondon is suspended for this fixture which means Demarai Gray could feature in the middle of the park alongside McNeil and Anthony Gordon. The likes of Seamus Coleman, Tom Davies, Andre Gomes and Andros Townsend are all still unavailable but Allan could be reinstated in central midfield despite recent fitness issues. Tarkowski could make his debut in a back three with Michael Keane dropping out if Mina is fit.
As for Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly is expected to make his debut while Raheem Sterling could feature in a front three alongside Mason Mount and Kai Havertz. Suffering from a hamstring issue and with recent speculation of a possible transfer, Timo Werner is expected to remain on the bench for this fixture. Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante will feature in midfield while Reece James and Ben Chilwell will operate as wing backs. It’s expected to be a close encounter between the two sides with Chelsea narrowly edging out Everton.
Also read: Arsenal defeat Crystal Palace to secure three points in PL opener
