Klopp makes 3 changes, teenager starts: Liverpool’s predicted XI vs Fulham

Liverpool’s Premier League season gets underway on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Craven Cottage to face newly-promoted Fulham.

Facing a newly-promoted side on the opening day of the season is nothing new for the Reds. In their last three campaigns they’ve faced Norwich twice as well as Leeds on these occasions, winning every single time.

The Reds come into this match as heavy favourites, but in games like this it’s the performance that matters more than the result sometimes.

There’s a lot of speculation around how Liverpool will line-up for this one. Will Darwin Nunez start the first game of the season? Does Joe Gomez get back into the team after signing his new contract? What sort of roles will Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliott have this season?

These are all burning questions, and with that in mind, we’ve had a go at predicting Liverpool’s starting XI for this one.

We think that Jurgen Klopp will make three changes from the team that beat Manchester City to the Community Shield.

Predictably, Alisson Becker returns in the sticks after recovering from his short-term injury, while the back four remains the same as the one we saw at the King Power Stadium.

There is a change in midfield.

Managing Thiago Alcantara’s fitness will be key this season, and while he’d probably love to start the opening game, it’s fair to say that Liverpool could get past Fulham without fielding their absolute strongest XI.

Therefore, we’re tipping Harvey Elliott to start alongside Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. Let’s not forget, Elliott was starting on almost a weekly basis last season before his injury and we expect him to slot right back in here.

Up top, we’ve tipped Darwin Nunez to start ahead of Roberto Firmino in this one, while Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah make up what is sure to be a front three we become very familiar with this term.