Ryan Gravenberch and Conor Bradley of Liverpool during a pre-season training session at Japan Football Association Yume on July 28, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Ryan Gravenberch and Conor Bradley of Liverpool during a pre-season training session at Japan Football Association Yume on July 28, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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Liverpool are without three senior players as they begin their Premier League title defence against AFC Bournemouth at Anfield.
The Reds are missing key midfielder Ryan Gravenberch for the 2025-26 curtain-raiser. The Netherlands international was sent off on the final day of last season, so he has to serve a one-match suspension. Gravenberch did not feature in the Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace on penalties last weekend because of the birth of his child.
Meanwhile, Conor Bradley remains unavailable, having also not been involved in the Community Shield. Bradley sustained a setback in training so cannot be involved. It means Jeremie Frimpong makes a Premier League debut after signing from Bayer Leverkusen for £29.5 million.
Kostas Tsimikas is also absent for successive matches. The left-back was spotted in training earlier this week so does not appear to be injured. Tsimikas has been pushed to third choice in the pecking order after the arrival of Milos Kerkez for £40 million from Bournemouth. Kerkez starts against his former club, with Andy Robertson deputising on the bench.
Tsimikas was the subject of interest from Nottingham Forest earlier this summer.
However, Joe Gomez is back on the bench after recovering from an Achilles issue sustained during the pre-season tour of Asia.
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