The Arne Slot era begins in earnest on August 17th as Liverpool travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town to open the 2024-25 Premier League campaign. Liverpool were unbeaten during a successful pre-season, but how will they fare now that the matches count in the standings?
An Uptick For Ipswich
This will be Ipswich Town’s first Premier League game in 22 years. They were in League One just two seasons ago, but the club won back-to-back promotions, It will be Liverpool’s first trip to Portman Road since 2022. Manager Kieran McKenna is excited about the match, but also knows facing Liverpool will be a tough challenge for his side.
“There’s a great deal of excitement, he said. “The group have worked so hard for the opportunity we have in front of us this season. The club, the town, the supporters have waited a long time to be back in the Premier League so it’s great excitement.
“We know the scale of the challenge, we know what’s ahead of us but we’re so excited for the game tomorrow.”
What Does Slot Say?
Slot met with the media and discussed his excitement for his meaningful game in charge of the Reds and the challenge of facing a newly promoted side like Ipswich Town.
“For me, the games in pre-season meant something as well; although you don’t get points for it, but I think it’s important to prepare the team for the Premier League,” he said. “Now we’re excited to start the season against a promoted team that did really, really well in the last few years under their manager. It’s interesting to see what’s going to happen tomorrow. It is true that a newly promoted club, there is a lot of positivity around a club like this. As people told me, every game in the Premier League is going to be an intense game and there are no easy games. That’s something that we can expect tomorrow as well – a promoted team that only had a lot of positives in recent years will come up against us [and are] really looking forward to it. But we are really looking forward to the game as well.”
News and Notes
In what would be Mohamed Salah’s 350th appearance for Liverpool, the Egyptian King has the chance to become the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer in matches played on opening weekend. He has scored eight times which ties him with Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard. If Liverpool win, Arne Slot would be the first new Liverpool boss to win his first game in charge of the club since Graeme Souness did so in 1991. Slott is in good company as Sir Kenny Dalglish made his managerial debut on August 17th.
LFC Globe Verdict
This will be no easy win for Liverpool. Portman Road will be rocking and Ipswich Town are a good side. Yes, they are newly promoted, but it’s hard to argue with the firepower of 92 goals scored in the Championship a season ago. I think Liverpool have too much firepower, however, and get the campaign started on the right foot with a 4-2 win.
Where to Watch
Kickoff is set for 1230 BST and will air on TNT Sports. Supporters in the United States will have to be early risers to catch the match as it begins at 7:30 AM EST on the USA Network. Canadian viewers can stream via fuboTV.
