MATCH PREVIEW // Ipswich v Liverpool

It seems like an eternity but the Premier League is back for The Reds as a new era begins under new manager Arne Slot. First up we face a tricky little away fixture against new boys Ipswich Town who gained promotion last season from The Championship.

So it's been all change behind the scenes for Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp's time at the club came to an end. Along with his departure a number of his staff also left the building with a raft of replacements coming in to take over. The team is pretty much the same and in a very good position for the new man to look after and nurture.

Slot has been very patient in his assessment of the squad and all the Academy stars at his disposal and this has been a highlight. Those huge changes can be very disruptive so keeping that squad intact was paramount. Obviously a couple of reinforcements wouldn't go a miss but it really is business as usual with all the new ideas Arne can bring to the table.

Contracts are as important as signings. Especially when they are for Trent, Virg & Mo.. Give or take 300 million pounds worth of talent available on free transfers at the end of the season is not a good place to be. So it will be very cool to get them sorted pretty soon..

Ipswich Town are back in the big time after over 20 years in the Championship and a dip into League 1 before back to back promotions under the impressive manager Kieran McHenna. Playing some exciting football. They narrowly missed out on winning The Championship by a point as Leicester pipped them to top spot..

QUICK STAT CHECK Its early days but Pre Season reads as Liverpool W-4 D-2 L-0. Ipswich W-2 D-0 L-1 Not that there is much to read into that..

LIVERPOOL LINE UP

Alisson, Trent, Virg, Quansah, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Mo, Jota, Diaz

LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS

The only question mark really is whether Robbo starts ahead of Tsimikas. As he completed a good 60 minutes in the behind closed doors friendly against Las Palmas. Tsimikas has featured heavily and could get the nod if he isn't 100%

Other than that its a clean bill of health for The Reds as they go into the new campaign

IPSWICH TEAM LINE UP

Muric, Davis, Burgess, Woolfenden, Johnson, Morley, Luongo, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Burns, Delap

IPSWICH TEAM NEWS

Ipswich are without 5 players for the opening game of their season. Harry Clarke, George Hirst, Nathan Broadhead, Cameron Humphreys & Janoi Donacien. With Humphreys the only one with an outside chance of recovering in time.

In terms of performance Ipswich are a bit of an unknown entity as we have only watched one or two games from last season so it will be nice to see how they line up and play out the season. If last season is a guide though they scored pretty freely with 92 goals in the league but leaked a few letting in 57. They only lost 6 which is impressive in that league..

THE GAME

Away games are always tricky within reason. Newly promoted teams kick starting the season at home are double tricky. Had we been playing here in the second half of the season you'd obviously have a better understanding of how it will play out but there are obvious things to take into account.

First games of the season are a lottery. Both teams are full of energy and excitement with nothing to lose. So anything could happen.. I say could because at the same time this Liverpool side is full of top class players who have been there and done it ten times over..

It will be a fast start from the hosts this should be in no doubt and that first 20 minutes are vital for us to remain strong, resilient and most importantly error free. We will be passing it out from the back more in this new Arne Slot inspired set up so will have to be on point with those quick passes to break the lines..

The longer the game goes on we should get a strong hold of it and start to dominate. Carving out chances mixed in with counter attacks. Last season taking the chances and leaking goals were a serious problem especially the latter.. So if we can keep the goals out and strike first the momentum should switch firmly in our favour.

Under Slot in preseason you don't feel we will defend as poor as we did under Klopp. There will be more numbers in defence and attack making us a more well rounded side. Energy levels should stay high too as we will not be trying to cover space we have left open. Resulting in better decision making when those chances arrive. 

OurLFC DANGERMAN

Luis Diaz.. For sure preseason games are for match fitness but that first half against Sevilla who are by no means a push over was pretty impressive. Diaz in particular scored two. One a quality piece of individual skill. The other a tap in..

He looked to be playing with total freedom in a system that could see the Colombian winger fly this season.. He has all the skills to pay those bills and just needs to build consistency now. The same goes for a few others in that forward line too. He could be set for a great season.

PREDICTION.. 3-0 TO THEM MIGHTY REDS 

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