Premier League Preview: Liverpool

Last Season: 2nd

Pre-Season Prediction: 4th - With intelligent summer purchases squad depth has been increased and should see the Reds more than capably cope with the loss of Luis and the challenge of Champions League football.

At the start of last season you would have been hard-pressed to find a Liverpool fan disappointed with coming second in the League. Such was the manner of their season though, with 24 victories in a 26 game unbeaten run, that fans will have been heartbroken to see that infamous Gerrard slip against Chelsea which also saw their chances of a first Premier League title fade away. Nevertheless, after a period of reflection that disappointment can be pushed aside and the realisation that Rogers has instilled a sparking philosophy in this Liverpool side which should carry them forward for years to come is a major positive, as well as the fact that they are finally back in the Champions League.

However, there is a pretty large, teethy elephant in the room that I have neglected to mention so far. Luis Suarez. With 31 goals in the League last year and an ability to change a game with the flick of a boot, his departure to Barcelona leaves a monstrous hole at the front of this Liverpool side. Echoes of Bale's departure to Madrid seem in place as Liverpool have gone on a spending binge to fill this departure but there is notable more intelligence to the signings. Improvements have come across the park with Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic providing creative flair in the midfield whilst Rickie Lambert provides an alternative up top. Emre Can is a solid addition to bolster the center of the park whilst Dejan Lovren and Javier Manquillo provide a welcome boost to, what was a fairly leaky defense last season.

Despite this summer spree, Rogers insists that Reds are not done there and expects more signings to be brought in to ensure that Liverpool are able to have a large enough squad to fight in both the Champions League and the Premier League. The main priority is still to find a world class striker to replace Suarez, with Lambert at 32 not being able to fill that gap in the long term. Both Falcao and Cavani were on the radar but deals for either of them look unlikely so it will be interesting to see who Rogers turns to next. Alberto Moreno is another deal which looks set to go through as Liverpool seek to ensure they do not concede another 50 goals like last  season, with the left-back being heavily linked with a transfer from Seville.

The main challenge of pre-season was the International Champions Cup which was relatively successful for the Merseyside club. Victories over Milan and Olympiakos and a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester City saw them reach the final which they eventually lost to Manchester United. That said, a first team mauling of Borussia Dortmund a few days ago will have boosted the confidence of an already positive team and, on the whole, pre-season can be heralded as a great success.

The big question, is can Liverpool replicate their success without the talismanic Luis Suarez leading the line? I believe that the answer is yes, albeit in a different style. Last season there was a reliance on Suarez and co to outscore the opposition. With the signing of Lovren though, Rogers is clearly trying to address the defensive weakness of last season and the reduced quantity of goals from Suarez should be counteracted by this new defensive stability. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen but don't expect European football to have a major impact on Liverpool's season.

Key Man: Raheem Sterling - The loss of Suarez places greater emphasis on the striking capabilities of Daniel Sturridge but it will be his partner in crime who will need to make the step up to replace the Uruguayan. Sturridge has already proved he is a 20-goal-a-season man but Sterling needs to ensure he can provide the creativity lost up top. One of the few bright sparks in England's dismal World Cup run, Sterling has had a solid pre-season after terrorising Phil Jones in the ICC and will be hoping to make another step up in an already hugely promising career.

One to Watch: Emre Can - The pick of the youngsters signed this summer, Can is a powerful midfielder and long-term successor to Steven Gerrard. The 20-year-old has had a fantastic pre-season impressing fans and neutrals alike with his determination and physicality in the center of the park, most notably his well-documented brushing aside of Mario Balotelli [Below]. Liverpool have not had a truly outstanding defensive midfielder since the departure of Javier Mascherano, but with the right development, Can could easily fill that gap. Are we looking at one of the bargains of the season?

Best Summer Signing: Dejan Lovren - The major weakness of Liverpool last year was their vulnerability in defense. Martin Skrtel may have knocked in seven Premier League goals but was susceptible to a lack of concentration at the other end of the park. And with Daniel Agger seemingly falling out of favour with Brendan Rogers a trademark defender was needed to bring assurance to the back line. Lovren had a stellar debut season in the Premier League with Southampton and was quickly earmarked as the 'next Carragher'. In amongst a host of forward thinking signings, Lovren is likely to turn out to be the best.

Liverpool Leap to League Lead

Liverpool battled to a 1-0 victory against Manchester United on the eve of Bill Shankly's 100th Birthday to move top of the Premier League.

In a feisty game at Anfield Daniel Sturridge continued his outstanding form with a poachers header after four minutes as Liverpool put in a strong defensive shift, sending a message of intent to their rivals.

The game underwent a lively start with United sending two dangerous crosses in within twenty seconds, but it was Liverpool who struck first. After careless play from Ashley Young, a Gerrard corner was headed towards goal by Agger with Sturridge getting the final touch.

United almost hit back instantly with a Van Persie overhead kick clearing the cross bar. Their pressure continued, with a low Welbeck shot well saved before a corner flashed across the face of goal, missed by everyone.

Liverpool regained a foothold in the game with Daniel Sturridge skipping away from Ferdinand, a strong tackle required by Vidic to bring him to a halt. Shortly after a Gerrard free-kick was well held by De Gea.

As the pace began to drop, tensions rose as Jones fell to the floor injured and United were furious when Liverpool played on, a nasty tackle from Tom Cleverley ending this period of play and earning him a booking. This was followed by bookings for Aspas, Van Persie and Carrick.

The half continued on a knife edge and ended on a sour note as a coming together between Van Persie and Skrtel led to verbal exchanges between a number of players and could perhaps have ended with a red card for Van Persie.

United started brightly after the break but lacked any sort of cutting edge whilst Liverpool looked extremely solid defensively. Glen Johnson in particular seemed to be making a number of important blocks.

The game went into a lull as Liverpool successfully held out against a far from penetrating United attack but a weak Vidic pass-back nearly let Sturridge in as Liverpool looked to put the game out of sight.

Mignolet was called into action by Nani when a vicious shot was palmed away and Hernandez had
a shot easily saved but the best chance of the game came with two minutes of normal time remaining, when Hernandez played in Van Persie who shot well wide.

Sterling nearly killed off the game in stoppage time but his shot was well saved by De Gea. However, it did not matter, as Brendan Rogers side ended David Moyes' competitive unbeaten run as United manager, moving Liverpool to the top of the table.

Liverpool Player Ratings:

Simon Mignolet: 7 - Had little to do but performed well when called upon.

Glen Johnson: 8 - My Man of the Match with a brilliant defensive performance. Made Ashley Young look very average.

Martin Srktel: 7 - A solid display on what could be his last Liverpool game.

Daniel Agger: 7 - Got the assist for the goal and player well throughout.

Jose Enrique: 7 - Quiet but competent when he needed to be.

Lucas Leiva: 7 - The unsung hero had a fine game in midfield.

Steven Gerrard: 7 - A typically assured performance from the captain.

Jordan Henderson: 6 - Drifted in and out of the game but did little wrong.

Iago Aspas: 3 - A very poor game. Terrible passing accuracy and weak on the ball.

Philipe Coutinho: 6 - Didn't fully show what he was capable of.

Daniel Sturridge: 7 - Scored the winner but faded in the second half as United pressed on.

Substitutes:

Raheem Sterling: 6 - Wasn't on the ball much but had one shot saved in stoppage time.

Andre Wisdom: N/A - Came on too late.

Luis Alberto: N/A - Came on too late.


Manchester United Player Ratings:

David De Gea: 7 - Looked sharp to prevent a second goal. Could do nothing about the first.

Phil Jones: 6 - Looked solid until his early injury.

Rio Ferdinand: 5 - Struggled at times to deal with the creativity of Liverpool.

Nemanja Vidic: 6  - A weary backpass but otherwise okay.

Patrice Evra: 7 - One of United's few bright sparks. Linked well with Welbeck on the left.

Ryan Giggs: 5 - Looked his age in a rare poor performance from the veteran.

Tom Cleverley: 5 - Never got into the game and failed to make an impact.

Michael Carrick: 6 - Typically solid game from United's central midfielder.

Ashley Young: 4 - A disappointing return to the United team, his error led to the first goal.

Danny Welbeck: 7  - Constantly worked hard and caused Liverpool some problems.

Robin Van Persie. 5 - A quiet afternoon but missed a good chance at the end.

Subsitutes:

Antonio Valencia: 6 - Continues to look better than last season but still a long way to go.

Nani: 5 - Shows no signs of returning to form.

Javier Hernandez: 6 - Played a nice ball through to Van Persie and looked busy.