Dugout Discussion – Liverpool vs Stoke

And we’re back. Quite literally.

First off, I can only apologise for the issues you’ve faced this morning accessing the site. Obviously the volume of visits was an issue but we really thought we were prepared (certainly our server bill will vouch for that). However, something, somewhere was awry with our set up and we are still investigating the cause. Fortunately, the members area remained unaffected so I’m hopeful that our members were still able to get some last minute analysis in, even if they were unable to comment on the main site. We’ve got our best men on the situation and I’m hopeful we can resolve it for future Gameweeks. Thanks for your patience.

On a more positive note – Premier League football has returned.

We start things off at Anfield for the season opener that has Brendan Rodgers’ side welcome Stoke, as Mark Hughes begins his Potters tenure with a daunting opening encounter.

The team news from the Liverpool camp won’t have be met with enthusiasm from Hughes – Daniel Sturridge is fit to start and features in what could be a three-man attack with Iago Aspas and Philppe Coutinho. Just how they lineup will be fascinating and will certainly reveal more on the potential of Coutinho over Sturridge as a Fantasy option.

Elsewhere, Kolo Toure starts in defence alongside Dan Agger and Jordan Henderson is given the nod in midfield, despite Joe Allen featuring prominently in the pre-season.

As for Stoke, they hand a debut to left-back Erik Pieters as expected and did line up with both Glenn Whelan and Wilson Palacios starting in midfield. However, Palacios has withdrawn late on through illness, giving Marc Wilson a start in the engine room. Surprisingly, there’s no Charlie Adam who drops to the bench, with Jon Walters set to support Peter Crouch up front in what looks to be a 4-5-1.

Our Duguout Discussion chatroom is now open to those who wish to indulge in some real-time view swapping during the match.

We’ll be back with another Dugout Discussion post in time for the three o’clocks.