Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola. (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images)placeholder image
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola. (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Liverpool begin their Premier League title defence against AFC Bournemouth who look set to lose another of their prized assets in the summer transfer window.
Liverpool could be handed a major boost ahead for the first game of their Premier League title defence.
The Reds begin the 2025-26 campaign when AFC Bournemouth travel to Anfield on Friday. Arne Slot's side are the favourites to win back-to-back English championships, which would see them move ahead of Manchester United. The fierce rivals are currently locked at 20 apiece.
There is no doubt that Kopites will be raucous for the encounter as Liverpool aim for a perfect start. Slot and his squad will know they face a tricky opponent in Bournemouth, however, after they recorded their best finish in history last term when clinching ninth spot with 56 points.
Bournemouth to lose another asset
And Bournemouth could also lose another member of their defence to a European powerhouse. That is because Illia Zabarnyi is closing in on a move to Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain. According to reports, the centre-back is poised to undergo his medical in the French capital.
Vitality Stadium head coach Andoni Iraola has admitted that it is looking likely that Zabarnyi will be sold and a replacement is required.
He told BBC Radio Solent: "We need two centre- backs because if the Zabarnyi deal gets done we are losing two top centre-backs. It is going to be almost impossible to replace them but the club is working on signing the best centre-backs we can find. Sometimes you have to wait and we have to trust the club in this process."
Bournemouth are closing in on Zabaryni’s replacement, though. The Cherries are set to recruit Bafode Diakite from Lille in a deal worth up to £34.5 million. Diakite could go straight into Iraola’s squad to face Liverpool but he will have little time to work with his new team-mates before travelling to Anfield.
Bournemouth head into the game after draw both games of their double-header against Real Sociedad.
Liverpool’s preparations
However, Mo Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott all missed spot-kicks in the shootout. On the game, Liverpool head coach Slot said: “I don’t think there was a main issue unless if the other team misses two penalties and you still lose within five penalties, that of course doesn’t help.
“But I think in general, it was a game where we twice came one goal up and, in my opinion, we controlled the game until the moment they scored the 2-2. Then, all of a sudden, although we still had one big chance for Mo Salah, we could have lost it in the end as well. But until that moment, [at] 2-1, there was every reason for me to expect that we would win this game. But after the 2-2 we were maybe lucky that we could go to penalties.”
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