Liverpool will adjust to life without Luis Suarez as they take on Preston North End. Liverpool stood by their star player, the PFA Player of the Year of the previous season, until the very end. He bit an opponent in his Liverpool days (Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea) but Liverpool somehow managed to divert the attention away from him.
The Merseyside club faced the media, supported Suarez, encouraged him to apologize and allowed him to be magical on the pitch. He almost won them the league and he took them back to the UEFA Champions League.
Now though, Brendan Rodgers has to do without him. Before the European season kicks off and even before the Premier League kicks off, Liverpool must find a suitable replacement from within their squad who will compensate for the loss of the Uruguayan. Even if they had not sold Suarez, Liverpool would still have to do without his services at the beginning of the season due to the four month ban imposed by FIFA following his bite on Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.
The pressure will be on Rodgers to deliver without his star man. He has enough good players in his squad to make a run for the Premier League title again and to be a threat in the UEFA Champions League. This is his time to test out the quality of his players.
Rodgers has the benefit of an almost perfect philosophy, one he is responsible for imposing on Liverpool. He will have to make do with his other stars such as the bright Raheem Sterling and the pacy Daniel Sturridge. He always has Steven Gerrard to rely on in midfield (despite the ill-fated mistake from the end of last season) and a solid foundation to build on.
Preston North End might not offer much resistance. However, if Rodgers wants to test some changes he wants to make, they are indeed the perfect opponents to do so against.
Where to watch the match: Live Streams, Live Scores, Start Times, TV Channels:
Watch Preston North End vs Liverpool live on Saturday, July 19, 2014:
In the US at 10.00 EST on:
In the UK at 15.00 BST on:
- On TV: BT Sport 1
For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the Preston-Liverpool match page.
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