Arne Slot's 'criminal' opening Liverpool game after Jurgen Klopp had his say on fixture

Liverpool boss Arne Slot will likely be hoping to avoid a 12.30pm opening day kick-off for a second consecutive Premier League season. The Dutchman was welcomed to English football last year with the early kick-off away to newly promoted Ipswich Town.

While Slot made no mention of the time which resulted in a comfortable 2-0 win in the end for his side, it was a source of tension for his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, who consistently spoke of his annoyance of the early kick-off. With the fixture list for the 2025/26 Premier League campaign set to be released on Wednesday at 9am, the German will hope his former side aren't resigned to yet another early start, having previously called it a "crime".

Klopp's frustration is certainly justified, as during his nine-year reign as Liverpool boss, the club featured in 45 early kick-offs – which ranks higher than any other Premier League club.

In his last season in Merseyside, Liverpool took part in six of those particular fixtures – a league-high – compared to just two in Slot's debut campaign.

It was in Klopp's final season at the club that he took full aim at the Premier League schedule, describing it as "absolutely insane" during a Liverpool press conference.

The 58-year-old said: "I was actually waiting for Amnesty International to go to them. I would like to be part of that meeting when someone says: 'Liverpool 12.30', and the whole room is bursting into laughter.

"I had a discussion only the other day with colleagues from our favourite TV channel, which I will definitely not watch again, TNT."

Klopp – who is the Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull – then added that Liverpool being required to play "Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday 12.30pm, is a crime."

Regardless of Liverpool's kick-off time, the opening weekend of the season represents history for Mohamed Salah, who has scored a record nine goals on the first matchday of an English top-flight season.

The Egyptian superstar has only failed to score once in the first league game of the season, which came against Chelsea in 2023 as he instead registered an assist for Luis Diaz's goal in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

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