Liverpool kick off their 2014-15 Barclays Premier League campaign with a home fixture against Southampton.

The Reds enter the match on the back of a handsome 4-0 friendly victory over Borussia Dortmund in their final pre-season warm-up.

Though Brendan Rodgers' charges were 3-0 winners at St Mary's in March, the Saints claimed the spoils in the corresponding tie last year by a single goal.

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1st to comment, hopefully this thread will get to front page

Team news
Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert may make their Liverpool debuts against their former club, but Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic are both ruled out.
Jon Flanagan and Daniel Agger are sidelined with knee problems.
New Southampton boss Ronald Koeman is set to hand a start to former Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Many of Saints' other new arrivals may also make their debuts, including Shane Long, Dusan Tadic, Ryan Bertrand and Saphir Taider.
Only new defensive acquisition Florin Gardos (hamstring) is a certain absentee, with midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in contention despite ongoing rumours of a move to Tottenham.
Match preview
The irony won't be lost on Southampton that it is against Liverpool that they begin something of a new era. The Reds have played a large part in Saints' summer of disruption and uncertainty by taking three of their key players.
The signings of Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert are just part of Liverpool's busy recruitment strategy as they prepare to answer one of the great conundrums of the new campaign - how will they cope without Luis Suarez?
It will be fascinating to find out. It isn't just the 31 league goals that have departed but the sheer psychological presence he posed for opponents, helping the Reds claim 26 Premier League victories last season.
In his absence Daniel Sturridge will need to move to another level - something he is capable of.
But as the Reds prepare for the demands of the Champions League for the first time since 2009-10, the squad looks to have much more depth.
Of all the new faces, Lovren may be the most crucial addition - he will be a real presence and leader in a defence that looked vulnerable too often last season.
While goalscoring was never a problem, Liverpool finished second despite conceding 50 goals, 13 more than Manchester City and 23 more than Chelsea.
Ronald Koeman has faced many challenges since succeeding Mauricio Pochettino and has set about rebuilding a Southampton squad that still has a decent foundation to it.
How quickly he can implement his ideas and how quickly his new signings settle will determine how much optimism there is on the south coast.
He and some of his fresh faces are new to the Premier League and there should be a touch of realism to expectations, particularly if there are any more through the departure gate before the transfer window closes.
You always felt last season that Southampton would present a test for any team in the division. Liverpool would certainly concur as Saints were one of only two teams to win at Anfield.
But any kind of repeat would raise plenty of eyebrows.
Match facts
Head-to-head
Southampton's 1-0 win at Liverpool last season means they have won two of their last four games at Anfield (W2, L2).
They have never before won back-to-back league games away to the Reds.
Liverpool
Last year's 1-0 win against Stoke was the first time in five seasons that Liverpool have won their opening league match (D2, L2).
The Reds scored more Premier League goals from counter-attacks (nine) than any other side last season.
The goals scored by Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge earned his side 20 points in 2013-14 - more than any other player in the top flight.
The Reds made fewer substitutions (89) than any other Premier League team in 2013-14.
Southampton
Saints' 1-0 victory against West Brom 12 months ago was the first time they had begun a Premier League season with a victory since 1999.
Summer signing Dusan Tadic created 133 goalscoring chances for FC Twente last season - that is 46 more than any other player in the Dutch top flight.
They kept 15 clean sheets in last season's Premier League - only Chelsea (18), Arsenal (17) and Manchester City (16) managed more.

Southampton went to Liverpool and beat them 1-0 early last season but, for obvious reasons, they will take a very different team to Anfield on Sunday.
Three players who were part of that Saints side are at Liverpool now, but Dejan Lovren might be the only one who starts against his former club. Adam Lallana is not fit and Rickie Lambert will probably have to settle for a place on the bench.
Southampton's business plan seems to be to bring players in, train them up and sell them on, which is great when it works but it is a big ask to do it again and again.
Liverpool have actually bought very well after selling Luis Suarez to Barcelona but only up to a point because they have still not answered the question of how on earth they are going to replace Suarez's goals - not just the quantity but also the quality of his strikes.

Luis Suarez scored 31 goals and made 12 assists for Liverpool in the Premier League last season
We know why they are still looking for reinforcements, because if Daniel Sturridge gets injured they will not have an out-and-out striker with any pace.
In the meantime, I think they will have too much for Saints.

Liverpool v Southampton (13:30 BST)
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard unwittingly served up one of the defining quotes of the Premier League era when his post-match huddle was caught on camera in April.

Liverpool, of course, did let their lead at the top of the Premier League slip. And Gerrard did, of course, slip to allow Chelsea striker Demba Ba to score a key goal in the title race.

Gerrard will now forever be associated with the line - unless he can guide Liverpool to the title after all. Today they begin their campaign against a Southampton side missing some familiar faces...

Team News
Liverpool v Southampton (13:30 BST)
Just two new boys in the Liverpool team, ex-Saint Dejan Lovren and new left-back Javier Manquillo. Rickie Lambert is on the bench.

Liverpool: Mignolet, Manquillo, Johnson, Skrtel, Lovren, Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge.

Mod please move to front page match starting in 30mins

Liverpool v Southampton (13:30 BST)
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman on Sky Sports: "I hope this is the perfect place to start. There is a lot of history at Anfield, it's a tough opener but it's the same for everyone.

"Always you would like more time to train with your new players but it's not like that. We are prepared to play today and I look forward to it. Morgan Schneiderlin has had a good week of training, mentally he is prepared and the team needs him."

Space booked.....


Am curious to knw wat will happen to d saints dis season

13:37
CLOSE! Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
First shot of the day comes from a predictable source, Daniel Sturridge letting fly from 20 yards and fizzing a shot past the top corner. Fraser Forster waves it past.
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
Former Wales striker John Hartson
"One of the things I'm impressed about already is Southampton striker Graziano Pelle, six foot four, full of muscle and an imposing presence already."
13:35
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
It's a breezy enough start from Southampton, with new keeper Fraser Forster completing his first clearance with a satisfying thump downfield too.

13:43
PENALTY APPEAL Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
Lovely feet from Daniel Sturridge as he twists and turns around Maya Yoshida, who then appears to trip the England man right on the edge of the box. Mark Clattenburg has no doubts - no foul.

Replays suggest there was some contact, but it was just outside the box too. As you'd expect, Sturridge is a man full of confidence.
13:41
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
How many more lines of Men At Work's 'Down Under' can John Hartson get into his analysis today? [see 13:35]. That's the big question.

I don't know if Graziano Pelle has a preference for Vegemite sandwiches but he has indeed made an imposing start.
13:39
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
Liverpool win a corner thanks to the movement of Daniel Sturridge, and Steven Gerrard's delivery is helped on by Martin Skrtel - but Fraser Forster is there to claim from in front of Dejan Lovren.

13:46
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
It's 70% of possession for Liverpool in the opening quarter of an hour, but they haven't called Fraser Forster into action yet.

Liverpool 1-0 Southampton
Former Wales striker John Hartson
"Great goal, a great run, Raheem Sterling went across the backline and Jordan Henderson picked him out. He timed his run to perfection and with his pace he gets away from defenders. Liverpool had not done a lot and the crowd were getting a little bit restless."
13:55
Liverpool 1-0 Southampton
Ronald Koeman will not like the way his team were undone by one ball there - but all credit to Jordan Henderson. Fine play.
13:53
GOAL Liverpool 1-0 Southampton - Raheem Sterling (23 mins)
Spotters' badge for Jordan Henderson! He wins the ball back inside his own half, beats Morgan Schneiderlin for strength and then sets Raheem Sterling away through the middle with an inch-perfect pass.

Sterling makes no mistake, taking his time before slotting into the corner. Lovely stuff. Where was that in Brazil lads?
13:50
Liverpool 0-0 Southampton
That's nice from Liverpool though, slick move down the left-hand-side ends with Philippe Coutinho finding Raheem Sterling, but his shot is easy for Fraser Forster to gather in. Saints break and win a corner, that man Dusan Tadic impressing again.

Then horrible goalkeeping from Simon Mignolet as he can't deal with Graziano Pelle, the ball ricochets around his penalty area and the Belgian eventually gathers it in.