Liverpool v Bournemouth: Back Wirtz to inspire opening-night win at 6/4 | OneFootball

English Premier League

Can Liverpool make a winning start to their Premier League title defence?

Liverpool have spent big in the summer transfer window, and Kevin Hatchard believes one of their recruits will sparkle on Friday night in the Premier League curtain-raiser.

Liverpool v Bournemouth

Liverpool's summer spending is a statement of intent

A running theme during FSG's stewardship among a certain section of the Liverpool fanbase has been that the Americans don't spend enough, that they failed to back Jürgen Klopp sufficiently and that a self-sustaining business model doesn't allow the Merseyside giants to truly compete with state-backed clubs like Newcastle and Manchester City.

How ironic then that Liverpool have won the same number of Champions Leagues as City in that time, and that they are now trying to prise Newcastle's star player away.

Having delivered the Premier League title last term, Liverpool are now spending from a position of strength. Record signing Florian Wirtz has the quality to become a generational talent, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are excellent full-backs, while Hugo Ekitike is already showing flashes of what he is capable of in attack. If Alexander Isak and at least one centre-back are added to the mix (England's Marc Guehi and Parma youngster Giovanni Leoni are targets), Liverpool will have an incredibly strong squad.

However, there are legitimate concerns about the balance of the side. Liverpool gave up two preventable goals in the Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday at Wembley, with defensive behemoth Virgil van Dijk at fault not once but twice. Ryan Gravenberch's absence as a midfield shield was keenly felt, and Liverpool must ensure they aren't overly reliant on the young Dutchman in the way that Manchester City desperately need Rodri in their team.

There were positives from that Wembley display though. Ekitike and Frimpong both scored their first competitive goals for the club, Wirtz was electrifying in the first half, and Kerkez looked his usual dynamic self. Manager Arne Slot isn't too concerned about how open Liverpool were, insisting that in general they have looked solid in pre-season.

Gravenberch will return after celebrating the birth of his child, and Alexis Mac Allister should also get a recall after recovering from injury. They will probably be the only two changes to the side that started at Wembley.

Shrewd Cherries have made a fortune, but what happens now?

If you've sold three of your first-choice back four to Liverpool, Real Madrid and PSG, that suggests your ability to identify and develop talent is at an elite level. However, you then have to reinvest those funds, and it takes time to get new players up and running.

Bournemouth lost Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen and Ilya Zabarnyi, and while left-back Adrien Truffert and central defender Bafode Diakite have arrived from French football with good reputations, they may take time to adjust to life in the Premier League. New number one keeper Djordje Petrovic has at least played in this league before for Chelsea.

The Cherries' most important achievement this summer has been keeping influential and talented coach Andoni Iraola. The Basque tactician managed to lead Bournemouth to a ninth-placed finish, which was a remarkable effort given the number of injuries he had to deal with. Indeed, had it not been for an understandable late collapse, the South Coast club might even have qualified for Europe.

A host of players have returned from loan spells, and wide forward Antoine Semenyo's decision to put pen to paper on a new contract feels like a real boost. That said, this feels like a Bournemouth squad that is still a few signings away from truly being ready for the new season.

Those gaps have been exacerbated by the loss of players like Justin Kluivert, Ryan Christie, Enes Unal and Lewis Cook to injury. None of them are expected to be fit to feature here.

Reds to make a comfortable start

Liverpool have won their last five meetings with Bournemouth, and four of those victories were by a multiple-goal margin. Arne Slot's men have won 13 and drawn four of their last 17 Premier League matches at Anfield, and of those 13 wins, eight were by two goals or more. There's certainly a case to be made for backing Liverpool -1.5 on the Asian Handicap at 1.8.

However, I'm going to go a different way by focusing on Florian Wirtz. The German international was involved in Hugo Ekitike's opener at Wembley, and across the last two Bundesliga seasons he has delivered 21 goals and 23 assists. I can see Wirtz thriving on his Premier League debut, so I'll back Liverpool to win, Wirtz to score or assist and Wirtz to commit a foul at 6/4 on the Sportsbook's Bet Builder.

Wirtz generally works very hard off the ball, but it might take him a while to correctly time his challenges in a new league - he was booked at Wembley and committed two fouls. In his 25 starts in the league last term, he committed at least one foul on 12 occasions, and he racked up multiple fouls six times.

In my Premier League antepost piece, I've debated Wirtz's chances of winning the PFA Player of the Year award.

Semenyo can lead Bournemouth charge

Bournemouth always try to take the game to the opposition, and they don't quail when it comes to facing the big boys. They had the fourth-most shots in the Premier League last term, averaging just over 15 goal attempts per match.

It's perhaps therefore not surprising to learn that the Cherries' Antoine Semenyo had the most shots in the whole league, a staggering 125 across the top-flight campaign. His figure of 3.51 shots per 90 was the fifth-highest in the division last term.

Semenyo will start here, and will carry the fight to Liverpool. He is 11/10 to have three shots in the game, and a hefty 11/4 to have four goal attempts. He had four shots or more in 20 Premier League games last term, and it's worth noting he had four at Anfield last season and six in the reverse fixture.

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