The 2025-26 Premier League season is set to kick off on Friday, with the opening match taking place at Anfield.
Liverpool will begin its title defence against Bournemouth. This summer has seen significant changes at Anfield, with more than $300 million spent on new signings and over $200 million recouped from player sales.
But Bournemouth has also undergone a transformation. Last season, under the guidance of highly-rated manager Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth performed admirably, finishing ninth. However, success often attracts attention, and several of the club's top players have been snapped up by other clubs. Bournemouth's defence has been particularly affected.
Liverpool had shown interest in signing Dean Huijsen, but the Spanish international chose to join Real Madrid instead.
However, Liverpool did manage to secure the services of another Bournemouth defender, agreeing to a deal for left-back Milos Kerkez. Bournemouth then lost Illia Zabarnyi, Huijsen's center-back partner from last season, to Paris Saint-Germain.
In response, the Cherries quickly bolstered their defence by signing Bafode Diakite from Lille. With Adrien Truffert arriving from Rennes to replace Kerkez, Bournemouth will also feature a new goalkeeper against Liverpool after securing Djordje Petrovic from Chelsea.
Justin Kluivert is unlikely to be fit to feature in Bournemouth's Premier League opener at Liverpool
Justin Kluivert is unlikely to be fit to feature in Bournemouth's Premier League opener at Liverpool (Image: Getty Images)
Petrovic is set to step in for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has made a move to Arsenal following his 2024-25 loan spell at Bournemouth from Chelsea.
Despite the influx of new signings being available for Friday's match, Bournemouth manager Iraola may be missing up to five key players.
Justin Kluivert, last season's joint top scorer, is likely to miss out due to a calf injury sustained in the first preseason game.
Following Saturday's friendlies with Real Sociedad, Iraola commented: "Justin is going slower than we thought. He did in the first game a very small calf injury.
"We thought he could even be able to play the last games in the U.S., but the truth is he's having some issues and he's not going as quick as we expected. It shouldn't be long. It should be already solved. But he's not training with us still."
Forward Luis Sinisterra and midfielder Ryan Christie were both anticipated to have returned to training this week, however, their chances of playing against the Reds seem slim given their absence from pre-season.
Iraola continued: "Sini has started training with us. And Ryan Christie, we expect him to train this week. It's true that he has been out a lot of time, he has been training on his own, has been doing his own things. It's not like he's starting from zero.
"But the plan is that Monday if everything goes well he starts with the team and I think Sini, Ryan could be let's say training with us next week. But it's true that they've lost a lot in the preseason and we don't know where they will be."
Two players who are definitely ruled out due to long-term injuries are midfielder Lewis Cook and striker Enes Unal.