Arne Slot’s reign as defending champion begins with a point to prove. Liverpool’s Community Shield heartbreak against Crystal Palace was a bitter curtain-raiser, the holders undone on penalties despite Hugo Ekitike’s dream debut strike and a freakish Jeremie Frimpong effort. The defeat not only denied them early silverware, but also exposed a defence that has now shipped 10 goals across its last five outings — competitive or otherwise.

That fragility is a rare blemish on what was a magnificent 2024-25 campaign. Slot’s Salah-inspired side wrestled the Premier League crown back to Merseyside, matching Manchester United’s tally of 20 top-flight titles while watching rivals Manchester City and Arsenal fade amid injuries and creative droughts. Liverpool may have stumbled in their final four league games, but the title was already in the bag, and Anfield remains an unforgiving fortress — 17 home league matches unbeaten since that shock Nottingham Forest loss last September. The Reds also boast a remarkable record on opening day, unbeaten in 12 such games since 2012-13.

Bournemouth arrive with a different kind of momentum — or rather, a lack of it. Their 2024-25 campaign was historic, setting club records for points (56) and defensive solidity (just 46 conceded). But success came at a cost, with four key defenders — Kepa Arrizabalaga, Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and now-Liverpool man Milos Kerkez — all moving on. Andoni Iraola’s men failed to win any of their four summer friendlies, losing to Manchester United and West Ham in the US before drawing twice with Real Sociedad.

History offers little comfort for the Cherries. They have never won at Anfield in the Premier League, taking just one point from the last 24 available there, and have lost their last six visits by a combined score of 23-2. Yet, if Palace’s Wembley blueprint can be followed, Bournemouth might just cause a stir.

Liverpool will be without Ryan Gravenberch, serving a suspension from last season’s finale against Palace, and are likely missing Joe Gomez (Achilles) and possibly Conor Bradley (muscle). Alexis Mac Allister should return to anchor midfield. Bournemouth have their own injury list — Enes Unal, Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Luis Sinisterra, and Justin Kluivert are all in varying stages of recovery, with Sinisterra the most likely to feature. New signing Djordje Petrovic will debut in goal, and Antoine Semenyo will look to justify his new contract.

Expect goals at both ends, with neither side boasting a full-strength defence. But Slot’s attacking options — Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, and Ekitike — should have enough to start the title defence with a statement win.

阿恩·斯洛特作为卫冕冠军的统治始于一分证明。利物浦在社区盾杯对阵水晶宫的比赛中令人心碎，这是一场痛苦的揭幕战，尽管埃基蒂克的梦幻首秀进球和弗林蓬的怪异射门，但卫冕冠军还是在点球上被取消了。这场失利不仅让他们早早失去了奖杯，也暴露了他们在最近五场比赛中丢了10个球的后防线。

这种脆弱是2024-25年大选中罕见的瑕疵。斯洛特在萨拉赫的鼓舞下，将英超冠军带回了默西塞德郡，追平了曼联的20个顶级联赛冠军，而对手曼城和阿森纳则因伤病和创造力的枯竭而逐渐衰落。利物浦也许在联赛的最后四场比赛中表现不佳，但冠军已经是十拿九稳的了，安菲尔德仍然是一个不可饶恕的堡垒——自去年9月输给诺丁汉森林以来，利物浦在联赛的17场主场比赛中保持不败。自2012-13赛季以来，红军在首场比赛中取得了12场不败的成绩。

伯恩茅斯带着一种不同的势头到来——或者更确切地说，缺乏这种势头。他们的2024-25赛季是历史性的，创造了俱乐部得分（56分）和防守稳固（仅丢46球）的纪录。但是成功是有代价的，四名关键后卫——阿里扎巴拉加、迪恩·惠尔森、伊利亚·扎巴尼和现在的利物浦球员米洛什·克尔凯兹都离开了。安多尼·伊洛拉的球队在夏季的四场友谊赛中一场也没赢，先是在美国输给曼联和西汉姆联，然后又两次战平皇家社会。

历史并没有给樱桃夫妇带来什么安慰。他们在英超联赛中从未在安菲尔德赢过球，在过去24场比赛中只拿到1分，而且最近6次做客安菲尔德的总比分是23比2。然而，如果水晶宫的温布利蓝图可以被遵循，伯恩茅斯可能会引起轰动。

利物浦将失去格雷文伯奇，他在上赛季最后一场对水晶宫的比赛中被禁赛，乔·戈麦斯（跟腱）和康纳·布拉德利（肌肉）也可能缺席。亚历克西斯·麦克·阿利斯特应该回归中场。伯恩茅斯有他们自己的伤病名单——埃内斯·乌纳尔、刘易斯·库克、瑞安·克里斯蒂、路易斯·西尼斯特拉和贾斯汀·克鲁伊维特都处于不同的恢复阶段，其中西尼斯特拉最有可能复出。新签约的彼得罗维奇将首次登场，塞门约也将证明他的新合同的合理性。

双方都有进球，双方都没有充分的防守。但斯洛特的进攻选择——萨拉赫、维尔茨、加普和埃基蒂克——应该足以以一场声明性的胜利开始卫冕。