Key events
17 min: Kenny Tete slides through Luis Diaz, sending him skywards. He gets a stern talking-to and a yellow card from the referee.
15 min: Oof! Rodak is forced to save from close range from Andy Robinson, who was miles offside when he received the through ball from Bobby Firmino. The ball breaks to Luis Diaz, who curls a beauty into the top corner but it won’t count because of Robinson’s offside in the build-up.
14 min: Liverpool advance through the centre but Luis Diaz has the ball nicked off his toe by Tosin Adarabioyo, who clears.
11 min: Liverpool are enjoying the lion’s share of possession but Fulham’s players are busy hustling and harrying, not giving them any time to settle on the ball. With it being a very hot day, so early in the season when nobody is at full fitness, how long will they be able to keep it up?
10 min: Andy Robertson heads the ball out for a throw-in deep in Liverpool territory as Fulham try to attack down the right flank.
8 min: Antonee Robinson tries to advance up the left for Fulham but is dispossessed by Jordan Henderson, who sends the ball into the stand.
7 min: The opening minutes have been played almost exclusively in Liverpool’s half of the pitch but Thiago boots it high and long trying to pick out Mo Salah’s run on the right wing. He overhits his pass and sends the ball bouncing wide.
5 min: This is hugely impressive from Fulham, who are showing no signs of being cowed by their exalted opposition. They win a corner when Joel Matip puts the ball out of play. Joel Matip heads the inswinger clear.
3 min: It was Trent Alexander-Arnold who gave the ball away under pressure from Bobby Reed to present Mitrovic with that early chance and Fulham continue their good start when Neeskens Kebano receives a pss from Andreas Pereira and sends a cross from the right flashing across the face of the Liverpool goal. Offside.
1 min: Aleksandar Mitrovic latches on to a rogue pass, advances and steers a low shot wide of the far post. A bright start for Fulham.
Fulham v Liverpool is go …
1 min: Liverpool get the ball rolling and almost immediately win a throw-in near the halfway line.
Not long now: Andy Madley and his fellow officials lead both sides out on to the Craven Cottage sward and they line up ahead of the last of the pre-match formalities. Kick-off is just a few handshakes, a coin-toss away and a shrill blast of referee Madley’s whistle away.
Fulham’s ticket prices: There has been much dissatisfaction among fans on this particular subject during the summer months. If you don’t have a season card, the cheapest adult ticket for today’s game is £65 (rising to £100!), while the most affordable child ticket is £35.
On BT Sport, Lynsey Hipgrave reveals that neither Tony Khan, the club’s vice-chairman, nor CEO Alistair McIntosh were prepared to speak to the network about these extortionate prices during the week.
In the spirit of whataboutery while on the subject of gouging football fans, might I suggest that BT Sport should look at their subscription fees and perhaps get their own house in order before pointing the finger at others.
Fulham v Liverpool line-ups
Fulham: Rodak, Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Joao Palhinha, Reid, Andreas Pereira, Kebano, Mitrovic.
Subs: Solomon, Leno, Duffy, Mbabu, Cairney, Rodrigo Muniz, Francois, Harris, Stansfield.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Diaz.
Subs: Gomez, Milner, Adrian, Elliott, Nunez, Carvalho, van den Berg, Bajcetic, Chambers.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
Early team news
In the absence of Harry Wilson, Neeskens Kebano starts for Fulham. Recently arrived from Arsenal, goalkeeper Bernd Leno is among the substitutes, with Marek Rodak starting between the sticks. Joao Palhina starts in midfield following his arrival from Sporting and his fellow newbie Andreas Perreira is also in the side. Their fellow summer recruits Shane Duffy, Kevin Mbabu and Manor Solomon are all on the bench.
Alisson is back for Liverpool but otherwise it’s as you were from the Community Shield last Saturday.Bobby Firmino will lead the Liverpool line, while new boy Darwin Nunez has to settle for a place on the bench.
Today’s match officials
- Referee: Andy Madley
- Assistants: Dan Cook and Derek Eaton
- Fourth Official: Tony Harrington
- VAR: Stuart Attwell
Injury news
Fulham have been dealt an early season hammer-blow with the news that Harry Wilson could be out for at least two months with a knee injury the Wales international suffered in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Wolves. Joe Bryan has a broken hand and looks likely to miss out, while Nathan Chalobah is also sidelined.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is expected to return from injury to face Fulham but his Irish understudy Caoimhin Kelleher is out with a groin injury and is, according to his manager Jurgen Klopp, still “a few weeks away”.
Diogo Jota missed the entirety of Liverpool’s pre-season with a hamstring injury he picked up on international duty earlier in the summer, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ibrahim Konate, Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones have all been ruled out for today’s game. Naby Keita has been ill but could feature.
Premier League: Fulham v Liverpool
With one game down and just 379 to go, the new Premier League season continues with Fulham welcoming Liverpool to Craven Cottage. It’s a daunting prospect for west London side, whose manager Marco Silva bemoaned the lack of new faces in his squad earlier this week. Since bolstered by the arrival of central defender Shane Duffy on loan from Brighton, Fulham hope to shake off their reputation as a yo-yo club by avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.
By contrast, their visitors looked to be firing on most – if not all – cylinders in the Community Shield last weekend and will be hoping to go one better than last season by winning the league. In a quite frank chat with the press, Silva admitted his squad is not ready to start the season but a lengthy Liverpool injury list may give him some hope of taking something from this game. Kick-off at Craven Cottage is at 12.30pm but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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