Liverpool will hope to kick on in 2018-19 after finishing fourth in the Premier League and concluding last season as Champions League runners-up.
The bulk of the Reds' pre-season preparations this summer took place in the United States as they returned to the International Champions Cup, having eschewed the 2017 edition, but they also had a game closer to home, in Ireland.
With the World Cup having finished mid-July it didn't give clubs much time - compared to last year - to get things in order ahead of their club campaigns, but there was plenty to look forward to nonetheless.
Goal brings you your complete guide to the Reds' 2018-19 season and Premier League fixtures, with dates, venues and all you need to know.
Liverpool pre-season fixtures
Date | Match | Time (UK / US ET) | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
Jul 7 | Chester 0-7 Liverpool | 3pm / 10am | Deva Stadium, Chester |
Jul 10 | Tranmere Rovers 2-3 Liverpool | 7:30pm / 2:30pm | Prenton Park, Birkenhead |
Jul 14 | Bury 0-0 Liverpool | 3pm / 10am | Gigg Lane, Bury |
Jul 19 | Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Liverpool | 7:45pm / 2:45pm | Ewood Park, Blackburn |
Jul 22 | Liverpool 1-3 Borussia Dortmund | 9:05pm / 4:05pm | Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte |
Jul 26 | Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City | 1:05am / 8:05pm | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford |
Jul 28 | Liverpool 4-1 Manchester United | 10:05pm / 5:05pm | Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor |
Aug 4 | Liverpool 5-0 Napoli | 6pm / 1pm | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
Aug 7 | Liverpool 3-1 Torino | 7:30pm / 2:30pm | Anfield, Liverpool |
Liverpool's pre-season schedule involved some interesting encounters, with games against Bundesliga and Serie A opposition, as well as a Premier League double header.
There were a number of games scheduled for July against local opposition to get new signings such as Fabinho and Naby Keita settled into the squad, with wins notched up over Chester, Tranmere and Blackburn Rovers, plus a goalless stalemate against Bury.
The first International Champions Cup game saw Jurgen Klopp go head-to-head with his former club Borussia Dortmund in Charlotte, and U.S. international Christian Pulisic starred as the Merseyside club were beaten 3-1.
The next game - against Premier League champions Manchester City - saw the return of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to the team, with both scoring off the bench in a 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Following the win over City, Liverpool traveled over 600 miles to Michigan where they put a 4-1 beating on Manchester United.
Liverpool have now returned to Europe to finalise their preparations ahead of the new season, thrashing Napoli 5-0 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin which saw Alisson feature in his first game for the club and goals coming from Salah, Daniel Sturridge, Georginio Wijnaldum, Alberto Moreno and James Milner.
They beat Torino 3-1 at Anfield in their final pre-season fixture.
Liverpool 2018-19 squad numbers
Squad No. | Position | Player |
---|---|---|
1 | GK | Loris Karius |
2 | DF | Nathaniel Clyne |
4 | DF | Virgil van Dijk |
5 | MF | Georginio Wijnaldum |
6 | DF | Dejan Lovren |
7 | MF | James Milner |
8 | MF | Naby Keita |
9 | FW | Roberto Firmino |
10 | FW | Sadio Mane |
11 | FW | Mohamed Salah |
12 | DF | Joe Gomez |
14 | MF | Jordan Henderson |
15 | FW | Daniel Sturridge |
16 | MF | Marko Grujic |
17 | DF | Ragnar Klavan |
18 | DF | Alberto Moreno |
20 | MF | Adam Lallana |
21 | MF | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
22 | GK | Simon Mignolet |
23 | MF | Xherdan Shaqiri |
26 | DF | Andrew Robertson |
27 | FW | Divock Origi |
28 | FW | Danny Ings |
29 | FW | Dominic Solanke |
32 | DF | Joel Matip |
40 | MF | Ryan Kent |
50 | MF | Lazar Markovic |
52 | GK | Danny Ward |
54 | MF | Sheyi Ojo |
56 | DF | Connor Randall |
58 | FW | Ben Woodburn |
59 | MF | Harry Wilson |
66 | DF | Trent Alexander-Arnold |
68 | MF | Pedro Chirivella |
- | MF | Fabinho |
- | GK | Alisson |
Liverpool's 2018-19 transfer activity
Klopp has signalled his intent on pushing for silverware this upcoming season after securing a move for Leipzig superstar Naby Keita a full year in advance, as well as quick swoops for Monaco midfielder Fabinho as well as Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri early in the transfer window.
Brazil No.1 Alisson signed for Liverpool from Roma for £66 million ($86m), almost certainly spelling the end of Loris Karius' time as the club's first-choice goalkeeper following a Champions League final nightmare for the German.
Emre Can moved to Juventus after rejecting talks of a contact renewal, and Jon Flanagan left the club on a free transfer to join former Reds captain Steven Gerrard's side Rangers.
They also announced that they had agreed a new deal for star striker Salah after a spellbinding debut season where he won the Premier League Golden Boot.
Transfer activity in
Position | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
MF | Naby Keita | RB Leipzig | £53m ($68m) | July 1 |
MF | Fabinho | Monaco | £43m ($55m) | July 1 |
FW | Xherdan Shaqiri | Stoke City | £13m ($16.5m) | July 13 |
GK | Alisson | Roma | £66m ($86m) | July 19 |
Transfer activity out
Position | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
MF | Emre Can | Juventus | Free | July 1 |
DF | Jon Flanagan | Rangers | Free | July 1 |
MF | Jordan Williams | Rochdale | Free | July 1 |
MF | Ovie Ejaria | Rangers | Loan | July 1 |
GK | Adam Bogdan | Hibernian | Loan | July 2 |
GK | Danny Ward | Leicester | £12.5m ($16m) | July 20 |
FW | Ryan Kent | Rangers | Loan | July 22 |
FW | Taiwo Awoniyi | KAA Gent | Loan | July 23 |
MF | Allan | Frankfurt | Loan | July 25 |
Liverpool's 2018-19 Premier League fixtures
The Premier League has confirmed that the 2018-19 season will get under way on Saturday August 11.
Fixtures were released on June 14 and Liverpool have been handed a home game against West Ham as their curtain-raiser. The Reds travel south to face Crystal Palace in their next game before hosting Brighton, with away clashes against Leicester City and Tottenham completing their first five league fixtures.
December 1 is the date of the first Merseyside derby of the season and it will be held at Anfield, with the corresponding fixture taking place at Goodison Park on March 2, 2019.
Klopp's side will lock horns with rivals Manchester United for the first time in the league at Anfield on December 15.
Liverpool's full Premier League fixtures can be seen below.
Date | Time | Match |
---|---|---|
12/08/2018 | 13:30 | Liverpool v West Ham United |
20/08/2018 | 20:00 | Crystal Palace v Liverpool |
25/08/2018 | 15:30 | Liverpool v Brighton |
01/09/2018 | 12:30 | Leicester City v Liverpool |
15/09/2018 | 12:30 | Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool |
22/09/2018 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Southampton |
29/09/2018 | 17:30 | Chelsea v Liverpool |
07/10/2018 | 16:30 | Liverpool v Manchester City |
20/10/2018 | 17:30 | Huddersfield Town v Liverpool |
27/10/2018 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Cardiff City |
03/11/2018 | 17:30 | Arsenal v Liverpool |
11/11/2018 | 12:00 | Liverpool v Fulham |
24/11/2018 | 15:00 | Watford v Liverpool |
01/12/2018 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Everton |
04/12/2018 | 19:45 | Burnley v Liverpool |
08/12/2018 | 15:00 | A.F.C. Bournemouth v Liverpool |
15/12/2018 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Manchester United |
22/12/2018 | 15:00 | Wolverhampton v Liverpool |
26/12/2018 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Newcastle United |
29/12/2018 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Arsenal |
01/01/2019 | 15:00 | Manchester City v Liverpool |
12/01/2019 | 15:00 | Brighton v Liverpool |
19/01/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Crystal Palace |
30/01/2019 | 20:00 | Liverpool v Leicester City |
02/02/2019 | 15:00 | West Ham United v Liverpool |
09/02/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v A.F.C. Bournemouth |
23/02/2019 | 15:00 | Manchester United v Liverpool |
27/02/2019 | 20:00 | Liverpool v Watford |
02/03/2019 | 15:00 | Everton v Liverpool |
09/03/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Burnley |
16/03/2019 | 15:00 | Fulham v Liverpool |
30/03/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur |
06/04/2019 | 15:00 | Southampton v Liverpool |
13/04/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Chelsea |
20/04/2019 | 15:00 | Cardiff City v Liverpool |
27/04/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Huddersfield Town |
04/05/2019 | 15:00 | Newcastle United v Liverpool |
12/05/2019 | 15:00 | Liverpool v Wolverhampton |