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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot(Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

Finally, the wait is at an end.

The Premier League is back among us, folks.

And Liverpool get the party started when they begin their defence of the championship they won so emphatically last season by taking on Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday evening.

The Reds have spent almost £300million on new signings during a summer recruitment drive that has seen £200m worth of players leave as Arne Slot continues to revamp his squad, with club record £116million signing Florian Wirtz the showpiece arrival.

Well, at least for now.

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Wirtz will be expected to start against Bournemouth having lined up against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield on Sunday, when fellow new boys Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike were also in the XI.

However, there are a number of potential Liverpool absentees for Friday's game.

One player definitely missing is Ryan Gravenberch, who is serving a one-match suspension following the red card he picked up during the final game of last season at home to Palace.

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Joe Gomez hasn't played a minute since returning home early from the Far East tour last month due to an Achilles issue, with the defender's most recent Premier League appearance coming way back in December at West Ham United after suffering a hamstring problem he later aggravated.

However, there was a positive update on Wednesday when Gomez was spotted back out on the field at the AXA Training Centre taking part in a team session.

Conor Bradley missed the friendly double-header against Athletic Bilbao and the defeat to Palace with a minor injury and faces a race against time to prove his fitness for Friday.

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And Kostas Tsimikas was left out of the Wembley clash with a number of clubs interested in signing the Greece international on a permanent basis.

Liverpool may once again be compelled to leave the left-back on the sidelines.


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