New Liverpool signing to start against Stoke
- By A.D. Winn on February 1, 2011 00:00 GMT
Liverpool will begin life without striker Fernando Torres on Wednesday, hoping that new signing Luis Suarez will be able to hit the ground running for the arrival of a determined Stoke side.
The Uruguayan striker, who signed on transfer deadline day for £22.7m, will go straight into the Reds starting line-up, after attacking players Torres and Ryan Babel both departed the club this month.
Suarez, 24, scored three goals in the 2010 World Cup, and recently scored a hat-trick for his country in a 7-1 friendly match against Indonesia.
The other signing made by the Merseyside club, £35m striker Andy Carroll, is not expected to feature for a few months as he recovers from a thigh injury. He joins Jamie Carragher on the sidelines, in what is otherwise a healthy Liverpool squad.
Liverpool fans will be glad to have January behind them; a change of management and a loss of their star striker, albeit for £50m, has seen their club feature on the back pages for all the wrong reasons. New interim coach Kenny Dalglish will however be hoping to achieve a 3rd straight win, after victories over Wolves and Fulham have seen his side climb to seventh in the Premier League.
Their opponents for this evening midweek game are Stoke, who had an up-and-down January; progressing through the rounds in the FA Cup, but becoming unstuck in the league, picking up six points from a maximum of 12. A mid-table finish would be ideal for boss Tony Pulis, but he will be warning against complacency at a crucial stage of the season.
Pulis will be without defenders Danny Higginbotham (hamstring injury) and Ryan Shawcross (suspension), whilst Tuncay left Stoke and moved to Wolfsburg in the transfer window.
Premier League 09/10:
Stoke 1-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 4-0 Stoke
Premier League 10/11:
Stoke 2-0 Liverpool
