Dugout Discussion

Alexander-Arnold starts for Liverpool as £4.0m Leeds defender features

Liverpool come into the first Premier League match of 2020/21 with their strongest key players all involved from the off.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) has not turned out for the Reds since the end of last season, missing out on pre-season friendlies through injury, but he starts against Leeds United.

While he was not fit enough to go on a summer tour with his club, the right-back did get some game-time in while away on international duty with England.

Naturally, he is joined in the back-four by the usual suspects of Andrew Robertson (£7.0m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Joe Gomez (£5.5m) while Neco Williams (£4.0m) misses out on a place in the match-day squad entirely.

Mohamed Salah (£12.0m), the second-most-captained player of Gameweek 1, starts on the right-hand side of Liverpool’s front-three, as do Sadio Mané (£12.0m) and Roberto Firmino (£9.5m).

In their first Premier League game for 16 years, Leeds line-up in Marcelo Biela’s favoured 4-1-4-1 formation.

The key Fantasy talking point is a start at centre-back for Pascal Struijk (£4.0m), although it remains unclear how long he will last in the team. The budget defender takes the place of club captain Liam Cooper (£4.5m) who is unexpectedly absent from the squad today.

The Scottish international’s late injury means a centre-back pairing of Struijk and new signing Robin Koch (£4.5m) for Leeds, while Stuart Dallas (£4.5m) and Luke Ayling (£4.5m) are set to staff the full-back positions.

Patrick Bamford (£5.5m) has been trusted with a start at Anfield, keeping new signing Rodrigo Moreno (£6.0m) on the bench while key man Pablo Hernández (£6.0m) is also in from the beginning, joined in midfield by Mateusz Klich (£5.5m), Jack Harrison (£5.5m) and Helder Costa (£5.5m).

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Robertson, van Dijk, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold; Keïta, J Henderson, Wijnaldum; Mané, Firmino, Salah.

Leeds United XI: Meslier; Dallas, Struijk, Koch, Ayling; Phillips; Costa, Hernández, Klich, Harrison; Bamford.

Best players by position:

2,446 Comments Post a Comment
  1. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Bamford off

    1. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      & Hernadez

  2. Ser Davos
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Mane's finish sums it all up

  3. KGFC
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Salah Mane back on passing terms?? 😛

    1. Qaiss
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Salah has scored today so he thinks to himself he can be a bit unselfish. If Mané had a brace I’m not sure Salah would be as keen

  4. Danstoke82
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Beautiful play between Salah and Mane only for the latter to balls it up

  5. DandyDon
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Harrison to much to handle for TAA today. Not allowing him to attack like we are used to at all

    1. Bushwhacker
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      He’s not fit.

  6. Hybrid.power
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Mane out of it altogether

  7. TorresMagic™
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    3 - Salah (48)
    2 - Bamford (28)
    1 - Harrison, Phillips (23)

    1. Hybrid.power
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      The very time I don't captain Mo he finally gets 3 baps

  8. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    the spanish bamford is on

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Means he'll get a goal today?

  9. Amey
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    I'm telling you salah mane have changed shirts 😀

    1. TorresMagic™
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Or Salah is better 😛

  10. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Mane decline Hot Topic due at 8pm.

    1. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Swiftly followed by “why I’m selling Trent” from the Pro Punditz

      1. The Sociologist
        • 5 Years
        3 years, 7 months ago

        Who's the most likely author?

  11. KINGS
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Judging from first game, is Harrison comparable to Grealish?

  12. BenDavies
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Horrific attempt at a counter attack by Liverpool. Ball to Salah again has to be stronger so he can just go for a shot.

    1. Bushwhacker
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      It was great until Mane got selfish.

  13. FPL Blow-In
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Saving my ft next gw if I have no injuries. Plan was always to look further than this week anyway even if it is not going all to plan.

    Meslier
    Shaw, Egan, Dier
    Auba, Rashford, Havertz, Pereira
    Werner, Martial, Wilson

    McCarthy, Soucek, Shaw, James

  14. Pedram
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Goals dried up lol

  15. Lacabacca
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    So many on here with "How on earth do people not own Salah?? He was the blah blah blah ... " posts, AFTER the fact that he just scored 2 goals. Pretty sure everyone knew he was one of the highest scorers past few seasons and was likely to do well this time too. Some people just decided to play differently. You captained him? Congratulations! Just write "Salahhhh!!!" whenever he scores and move on. 🙂

    1. Qaiss
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      I thought he would score and I’m not too bothered. You can’t expect a player like him to blank each week

    2. Egg noodle
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Many of the noobs on this forum tend to be toxic

    3. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Yes agreed. I have salah too but people like that are very annoying

    4. Dr. Rog
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Plenty of ways to play this game. All equally viable, but at the end of the season, some will have been more viable than others.

      Salah seller here.

  16. Egg noodle
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Goddamn Sadio, just 1 goal please

  17. Eat my goal!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Foo Fighter will be full of himself this week!

    1. Gnu
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      He's usually full of something.....

      1. El Presidente
        • 4 Years
        3 years, 7 months ago

        ah ah ah

  18. mgilbert86
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    if salah gets a hat trick this game week is ok with triple southampton

  19. Ógie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    I think the collar on that Liverpool jersey looks gammy.

    Looks like it is the wrong way round.

    1. Warbling Wendy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      it's grim

      1. Ógie
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        3 years, 7 months ago

        It could cost em the league.

  20. Bushwhacker
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Curtis Jones for Hendo? Oh boy we need to invest.

    1. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Klopp sending out a message re Thiago?

  21. Warbling Wendy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    salah looks like a shaved poodle

    1. Warbling Wendy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      it's like he has a owner from Essex who has taken him to the dog grooming shop and let the woman in there go to town on him

  22. Towsor44
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Ah, got VVD over Trent, but chose Mane over Salah. Giveth with one hand, taketh away with the other 🙂

    1. BenDavies
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Think there was more taketh than giveth with that one

    2. Old Bull
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      I’d be happy with that as I’ve got Mane and Trent

    3. Old Bull
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      I’ve also got Bamford on the bench

  23. Eat my goal!
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Salah lookalike coming on

  24. g40steve
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Clich G

    1. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 7 months ago

      Klich

  25. Podge
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    lol 3-3

  26. TorresMagic™
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Wow!

  27. Ógie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Well deserved

  28. Zimo
    • 5 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Man i need a leeds attacker

  29. LewanGOALski
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    KLICH 🙂

  30. el polako
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 7 months ago

    Klich Klich Boom !!!