Arne Slot is hoping to strike the right balance between "chaos and possession" ahead of his first Premier League encounter against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Slot arrived as Jurgen Klopp's successor in June, and a seemingly improbable task has proved to be a seamless transition given their pre-season results.
The Reds won four of their five fixtures ahead of the new campaign, but Slot is still aiming to find the perfect blend just two months into his Anfield tenure.
"Style of play has been with my teams where I worked, I think, always the same," Slot said. "There are a lot of similarities with Jurgen Klopp, with the way they played in the past, and I'm hoping we will see these similarities in the upcoming weeks and months.
"We like to have the ball, we don't like the other team to have the ball, but the Premier League is a league where many good clubs are and many clubs want to have the ball.
"And if we have it, we want to score, we want to be intense in everything we do. If we have the ball, we want to score – that's quite simple, of course!
"But it sometimes also depends on the players you have. I think we're trying to find the balance between trying to create chaos at certain moments and trying to keep possession of the ball."
Meanwhile, Ipswich arrive back in the Premier League 22 years after their relegation was confirmed against the same opponents they will face upon their return.
The Tractor Boys confirmed back-to-back promotions last season, pipped to the Championship title by Leicester City in Kieran McKenna's second season at the helm.
Ipswich scored 19 goals from set-pieces last campaign, a total only bettered by Cardiff (21), something McKenna believes will be crucial in remaining in the division.
"I've spoken lots about how we're going to have to try and keep our identity but adapt, and we're not going to be able to open up the game as much every minute of every game pretty much like we did last season," McKenna said.
"We're going to have to find times to do that and find time to keep the game a little bit more closed, and also we're going to get fewer set pieces.
“So it's going to be of the utmost importance to be even more efficient with them, and we're going to defend more, so we're going to have to be even more resilient against our set plays."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich - Omari Hutchinson
After starring on loan for Ipswich last season, Omari Hutchinson secured a permanent move to Portman Road from Chelsea at the beginning of the transfer window.
Hutchinson registered 16 goal involvements in 44 Championship appearances last season (10 goals and six assists), a total only bettered by Leif Davies (20) and Conor Chaplin (21) in the Ipswich squad.
He has previously played three times against Liverpool's Under-21 side and remains winless against them (D1 L2), but has the opportunity to upset the odds this time around.
Liverpool - Mohamed Salah
As Mohamed Salah embarks on his eighth season with the Reds, he will be hopeful of adding the Tractor Boys to the list of Premier League outfits he has scored against.
No player in Premier League history has scored more goals on matchday one than Salah (eight, level with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney).
Only Rooney's total of 13 goal involvements (eight goals and five assists) is more than the Egyptian's tally on the opening day of the season (eight goals and four assists).
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Slot will be hoping for a winning start in Suffolk, with the omens in his favour as Liverpool have never lost at Portman Road (P5 W3 D2), playing more games there without losing than any other ground in the Premier League.
Ipswich will also be the fifth newly promoted side the Reds have faced in the last six seasons (W3 D1), with the last time Liverpool lost on the opening day coming in a 3-0 defeat to West Brom in 2012-13 in Brendan Rodgers' first game in charge.
However, only one of the eight managers to take charge of the Reds in the Premier League has won their first such game (D4 L3), with Gerard Houllier the last to do so against Southampton while jointly in charge with Roy Evans in August 1998.
The Tractor Boys boast an impressive matchday one record of their own, going unbeaten in their last 10 (W6 D4) since a 2-1 defeat to Reading in 2013-14.
Last season, only Stockport County (96) and Manchester City (96) scored more league goals than Ipswich in England's top four tiers last year, and since McKenna's arrival at Portman Road in December 2021, only City (239) have scored more league goals than the Tractor Boys (222).
And while Ipswich finally ended their 22-year wait for a return to the Premier League, they will want to get one over their opponents. Their most recent top-flight fixture was against Liverpool in May 2002, losing 5-0 to confirm their relegation to the second tier.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich - 15%
Draw - 17.9%
Liverpool - 67.1%
Lopetegui to assess Fullkrug as focus remains on trusting the process
Julen Lopetegui has refused to rule out Niclas Fullkrug’s involvement when West Ham return to Premier League action against Fulham on Saturday.
Fullkrug, who was signed from Borussia Dortmund during the transfer window, picked up an injury on international duty with Germany during their 5-0 win over Hungary, a game the 31-year-old scored in.
Lopetegui has picked up one win from his first three league fixtures at the helm, but the Spaniard says his side are still in the process of becoming the team he wants them to be.
"Let's see, he has a little problem, it was a pity,” Lopetegui said on Fullkrug. “But it's true that we will evaluate him too, today.
“Yesterday we thought he was a little bit better, today we're going to see how he is exactly and tomorrow we are going to make the last decision about him.
"It's a process, and we have had 10 days here to work with the players. Unfortunately, a lot of them weren't here, so it's not easy, but we've done what we could.
“It's a quick turnaround now to Fulham, but we're putting all our focus on our next match."
Fulham, meanwhile, entered the international break off the back of a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road, with the Cottagers sitting in 12th in the early-season table.
Marco Silva’s new-look squad showed signs during their encounter with the Tractor Boys that they are close to kicking into gear, having taken four points from their first three Premier League games.
While Silva acknowledged his players were forced to adopt a different style of play in their last fixture, he is confident they can continue their unbeaten run on home soil.
"Tough Premier League game, as always, against a side that you know are going to be really hard to play against,” Silva said. “We know it can be tough to play here because last season we played against them in a different competition with great support from the home crowd.
"We were solid in the second half, but not in the way that we like to play, not with that quality in our build up, and it was more difficult for us to create chances.
"It's a game, of course, that we wanted to win, we wanted the three points. We got one point, and we move on to prepare for the next one."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Antonee Robinson
Since the start of last season, only Kieran Trippier (10) has more assists among defenders in the Premier League than Fulham’s Robinson (eight).
All eight have come in open play, with only Mohamed Salah (13), Brennan Johnson (10), and Anthony Elanga (nine) having a better 100% open-play assist rate in the division during that time.
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen has nine Premier League goals away from home since the start of last season, with only Erling Haaland (16) and Ollie Watkins (10) netting more, while his only goal this term came away at Crystal Palace.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Fulham won both Premier League meetings with West Ham last season by an aggregate score of 7-0. They’ve not won three consecutive league games against the Hammers since between October 1965 and October 1966.
During his time in charge of the Cottagers, Everton and Watford, Silva has more Premier League wins against West Ham than any other side (P9 W6 L3), with the 17 goals his sides have scored against the Hammers in the competition also being his most.
Fulham have also lost only one of their four top-flight games that followed an international break last season (W2 D1), while West Ham lost three of their four such games in 2023-24 (W1).
West Ham’s only win so far in the Premier League this season came away to Crystal Palace (2-0). They last won their opening two away league games of a season in 2015-16 (first three).
The Hammers have also won 16 of their 28 Premier League games against Fulham, their best win rate against any side they’ve faced at least five times in the competition (57%).
But so far this campaign, only Newcastle United (54) have faced more shots in the Premier League this season than West Ham (52), while their expected goals against total of 6.4 is also the second-highest, behind newly promoted Ipswich (6.9).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham – 40%
Draw – 26.2%
West Ham – 33.8%
Miller, Watson bag hat-tricks as Glenmuir hammers Porus High 13-0 in DaCosta Cup
Orel Miller continued his hot scoring form to start the 2024 ISSA/WATA DaCosta Cup season after he notched up a second consecutive hat trick to lead last season’s beaten finalists Glenmuir High to a massive 13-0 trouncing of Porus High in their Zone I game at the Porus Community Centre on Wednesday.
Miller added to his three-timer scored in the team’s opening 5-0 win over Kemps Hill and was joined by Orane Watson who also scored a hat trick on Wednesday.
Dunsting Cohen and Ricardo Binns both scored braces while Nmuemonie Blackwood and Tajaun Cummings got one each with an own goal completing the tally.
Elsewhere in Zone I, Garvey Maceo defeated Vere Technical 1-0 at home.
Two other schools also moved to two wins from two games on Wednesday as Port Antonio High beat St Mary High 4-1 while Holmwood Technical outscored Bellefield High 4-3.
Kerone George scored a brace while Shaquone Hardware and Dwayne Rodgers also scored for Port Antonio High as they took over the lead in Zone M.
Holmwood Technical, who beat Alston High 4-0 in their opening game, outscored Bellefield High 4-3 in their Zone G encounter.
Green Pond High beat Maldon High 2-1 with a second half double from Garth-Dane Bromwell, who netted in the 50th and 65th minutes while Kevin Hawthorne scored a consolation goal for Maldon High in the 76th minute.
Irwin High were held 2-2 at home by St James High also in a Zone A game.
Manning’s School also got off to a positive start in Zone C, beating Black River High 2-0 thanks to goals from Jarvis Meylor and Dainton Williams.
First time quarterfinalists from last season, B.B Coke, opened their season with a 5-1 win over Newell High to take over the lead on goal-difference in Zone E.
The day’s other Zone E game saw Munro College beat Lacovia 1-0 at Lacovia.
Knox College and Paul Bogle High who lost in their opening games, bounced back to beat Alston High and St Thomas Technical 2-0 and 3-0 respectively.
Mateta has 'moved on' after Crystal Palace refused to sell
Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta has no issues with the club's refusal to sell him this past transfer window.
Mateta had a strong second half of the season at Palace, and was a key performer for Oliver Glasner.
The striker subsequently helped France win gold at the Paris Olympics.
Mateta was, however, open to leaving Palace over the summer, though with the club having rejected interest, the 27-year-old is happy to put thoughts on his future to one side.
In an interview with L'Equipe, he said: "I'm a realistic person: the club didn't want to sell me.
"Well, I'm moving on and I'm doing everything so that the team obtains better results than last year. And when it's time to ask ourselves these kinds of questions [about the future], we will ask ourselves.
"In football, you have to adapt quickly, concentrate on the upcoming deadlines and not dwell on the past."
Palace face Leicester City on Saturday, and while the Eagles have only picked up one point from their three Premier League matches so far, Mateta has full confidence Glasner's team are worthy opponents for any team.
He said: "The coach sees, as [France Olympics coach Thierry] Henry did, that I'm trying to pull everyone up, because I work hard, I encourage everyone to do the same and I constantly repeat that we can beat anyone: City, Liverpool… anyone! Anyone!
"I only had a few days of rest between the Olympics final and the resumption of the Premier League, and Glasner asks us to chase the opposing teams high, it's very different from the game we played with France at the Olympics, because we had the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Crystal Palace - Jean-Philippe Mateta
Mateta has made more targeted runs into the box than any other player in the Premier League so far this season (14). However, he is yet to open his account for 2024-25.
Leicester City - Abdul Fatawu
Only Bruno Guimaraes (16) has won more fouls in the Premier League this season than Leicester's Abdul Fatawu (10), seven of which have been following an attempted take-on, more than any other player.
MATCH PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE WIN
Leicester have won just two of their last 16 Premier League games in London (D3 L11), conceding 40 goals during that run (2.5 per game).
The Foxes have only opened the scoring in two of their last 24 Premier League games, conceding first in all three so far this season. Only in 1994-95 and 2001-02 have they conceded the first goal in each of their first four games in a Premier League season, being relegated in both of those campaigns.
Palace have won nine Premier League games against Leicester – against no side have they beaten more times in the competition.
Leicester lost 2-1 the last time they faced Crystal Palace in the Premier League (April 2023), having been unbeaten in their previous seven against the Eagles beforehand (W4 D3).
Since drawing consecutive home games 0-0 in September/October last season, Palace's last 16 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League have seen 59 goals scored (F34 A25, 3.7 per game). Only Chelsea (63) and Manchester City's (60) home games have seen more goals in the competition since the first game in that run.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Crystal Palace - 56.6%
Leicester City - 21%
Draw - 22.4%
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