Last season's English Premier League runners-up Liverpool get ready to open their new campaign when they face Southampton at Anfield, on Sunday.
This will be the first game for Brendan Rodgers' men since the £75m departure of superstar Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from the Merseyside club to La Liga giants Barcelona.
The top-scorer from the 2013-14 season, netting a whopping 31 times in the domestic league alone, Suarez leaves a big gap in Liverpool's attack. The team, though, will now look to their second top-scorer from last season, English forward Daniel Sturrdige, who registered a healthy 21 times in the league, to carry on the goal-scoring burden.
Liverpool will take on a Southampton side ripped to pieces in this summer's transfer market. Over five key players have exited St Mary's Stadium. This will be an interesting encounter as Liverpool has been the destination of three former Saints stars with Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, and Dejan Lovren moving to Anfield this summer.
Lallana, named in last season's PFA Team of the Year, alongside former Benfica winger Lazar Markovic remain out of contention for a debut with a knee and foot injury, respectively. Alberto Monero will not be available for Sunday's game either but a debut for Emre Can, signed from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, is on the table.
Questions remains over the future of Saints midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin with reports claiming the French midfielder is trying to force a Southampton exit, but the game on Sunday could see a debut for Irish striker Shane Long.
Liverpool vs Southampton team sheets
Liverpool's First XI: Mignolet, Manquillo,Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren, Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge
Liverpool's subs: Jones, Sakho, Toure, Allen, Can, Lambert, Ibe
Southampton's First XI: Forster,Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Bertrand, Wanyama, Schneiderlin, S. Davis, Ward-Prowse, Tadić, Pellè
Southampton's subs: K Davis, Long, Taider, Cork, Hooiveld, Isgrove, Stephens
Where to watch the match -- LIVE stream, TV listings, Start time
Watch Liverpool vs Southampton live on Sunday, August 17, 2014:
In USA at 08:30 EST: NBC Sports Live Extra, SiriusXM FC, NBCSN
In Canada at 08:30 EST: RDS, TSN, TSN GO
In UK at 13:30 BST: TalkSport Radio UK, Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Go Extra, NOW TV, Sky Go
In Australia at 22:30 AET: Fox Sports 1 Australia
