Liverpool returned to their training ground on Wednesday as the club began final preparations for the opening Premier League fixture of the season, an away trip to Chelsea. The club's official website published a gallery of 38 images from the session, offering a first look at the squad at work ahead of what promises to be a demanding start to the campaign.
The photographs, released via liverpoolfc.com, show players in full training ahead of the Chelsea fixture — one of the more high-profile opening-weekend matches in this season's Premier League schedule. No specific tactical details were discernible from the images, though the session appeared to involve a full complement of players working through drills on the grass.
Chelsea and Liverpool have historically produced some of the division's more closely contested matches, and an away fixture at Stamford Bridge represents a stern early examination for the visitors. Both clubs arrive at the new season with ambitions in the upper reaches of the table, which lends the fixture an edge that might otherwise be absent from an August opener.
For Liverpool, the trip to west London will set an early tone. How a side performs in the first fixture of a season rarely defines what follows, but results at grounds like Stamford Bridge carry a certain weight in terms of confidence and momentum, particularly when both clubs are expected to be competing at the top end of the table across the months ahead.
Further details on team selection and the manager's pre-match assessment are expected to emerge in the days before the fixture.