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Liverpool begins the defense of its Premier League crown on Friday as Bournemouth visits Anfield in the first game of the season.

The Reds are the team to beat in the top flight after cantering to the title last season, and Arne Slot has plenty of exciting new players at his disposal, with the club having signed a host of stars in the transfer window.

Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong all lined up in the Community Shield last Sunday, but the real business starts with the visit of the Cherries to Merseyside.

Slot and his players continued their preparations for the game during a training session at the AXA Training Center on Wednesday, and here are a few things we noticed during the session...

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Gomez trains

Joe Gomez has been sidelined for several weeks after returning home from the preseason tour of China early due to an Achilles problem.

He missed the friendlies with Athletic Club at Anfield as well as the Community Shield, which meant Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk were the only senior central defenders available to Arne Slot, but he was back in team training on Wednesday.

Whether he will be available to face Bournemouth this weekend remains to be seen, but whenever he does return to fitness, he will have competition on his hands for game time amid the likely arrivals of both Giovanni Leoni and Marc Guehi.

Ekitike's skill

Hugo Ekitike enjoyed a hugely encouraging official debut last weekend as he scored the opening goal of the game, and he's been finding the back of the net in practice this week too.

A clip shared on Liverpool's social media channels showed Ekitike receive a pass on the edge of the box, taking a skilful first touch and sliding the ball into the bottom corner.

Ekitike will be hoping to build on the bright start to his Liverpool career against Bournemouth, when he is expected to line up as Liverpool's main striker as the Alexander Isak saga rumbles on.

Tsimikas all smiles amid exit talk

Kostas Tsimikas may not be a Liverpool player when the transfer window closes, but his love for the Reds has never been in doubt

He walked out for the session with his arms stretched out and produced a huge smile.

Tsimikas, who is the subject of interest from Nottingham Forest, said in an interview earlier in the summer that the temptation to play regular soccer elsewhere was countered by how much of a privilege it is to play for a club like Liverpool.



“But for me, the 27-29 games I play every year in all competitions are more than playing 40 for another team and in another league."

Van Dijk proves coach wrong

Virgil van Dijk playfully told one of Liverpool's coaches that he "likes a challenge" after said coach told the Liverpool skipper it would be impossible to curl a ball into the net from behind the goal.

Lo and behild, Van Dijk completed the feat just seconds later before turning back to the doubtful coach and cheekily saying: "What have you got to say?"

Van Dijk endured an afternoon to forget against Palace but he looked as calm as ever on the training field, and he will no doubt be keen to silence his doubters with a trademark performance on Friday.