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It’s all happening for Jordan Henderson. He captained his side to an FA Cup quarter final triumph just hours after his wife gave birth to their second child – and Brendan Rodgers was quick to praise his stand-in captain for his determination to play even after getting little sleep – his contribution to the cause is unwavering. 

And it’s been a phenomenal year for him career-wise too, really. He’s been fantastic on the pitch, give or take a few games in Liverpool’s early-season stumbles, he’s scored some sensational goals and he’s landed himself a starring role in a new male grooming advert!

Steven Gerrard may be Liverpool’s club captain, but he’s stepping aside – or is that being stepped aside – for Henderson. With his strong Sunderland accent, he may never be Mr Liverpool like Gerrard, but nor should he try to be. He’s the cliched honest and hardworking player, but he just happens to be very talented, too. He’s there to replace Gerrard, to play in his position once he’s gone, but he’ll never replace Gerrard – no one could.

In February, Joey Barton caused controversy on twitter – surprisingly – by suggesting that Henderson was ‘wearing armbands… Trying to impersonate legends’, but incapable of actually replacing Gerrard. Jamie Carragher pounced on his tweets and bafflingly got the wrong end of the stick. Barton wasn’t slating Henderson, or at least, not Henderson’s ability.

And Joey’s spot on here – Henderson is a wonderful player, but he’s not Steven Gerrard.

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He’s not completely unlike Gerrard, and they do share some similarities in their style of play, but they certainly aren’t the same. Henderson won’t drag his team kicking and screaming through a game, he won’t almost single-handedly win points either. He’ll contribute lots, and he’ll be a big player for Liverpool for years to come, but he won’t be Steven Gerrard.

As Barton said, Henderson is great at being himself, but he’s probably not that great at being Gerrard. Then again, no one is.

Brendan Rodgers himself is irked by the comparisons, telling the media to stop “putting pressure” on Henderson, but more importantly telling the assembled reporters that Liverpool will “find different ways, different types of player” to replace Gerrard.

Rodgers is clearly building his own team, a team that he wants rather than a team that he’s inherited. Luis Suarez is gone, Gerrard will be soon, but he has players in his team that seem to fit the mould better. Team players, players who are not necessarily world beaters on their own, but as part of a team they excel. Liverpool are more than just the sum of their parts.

And Rodgers has replaced players without replacing them before. When Suarez left a gaping hole in the Liverpool attack, it wasn’t just one player who Rodgers singled out as a replacement. He changed the formation, the style of playing, he brought in lots of different players, and lots of different kinds of tactical approaches. And this seems to be what he’s saying here. He doesn’t want Jordan Henderson to be the new Gerrard. He wants Jordan Henderson to be Jordan Henderson.

Once Gerrard does leave there will be no replacing him. The team will just have to play differently. But that’s what they’ve done this year with Suarez. They couldn’t manage it until Christmas time, and it’s, probably, cost them a Champions League place. But this time Gerrard has been phased out. It’s sad for the player, for the club and for the fans. In fact, it’s sad for the Premier League, too. But Rodgers has done what was needed to make sure that Liverpool can start next season well and have a full-on go at the title.

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Henderson will be vital to this campaign, but he will not be as vital as Gerrard has been in the past. He is not trying to impersonate anyone, but by being himself he will replace Gerrard. Just not in a way that’s as simple as just taking his place.

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Manchester United are renowned for playing attractive attacking football under Sir Alex Ferguson, however it is hard to think of the club without the defensive partnerships such as  Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, Jaap Stam and Ronnie Johnson, and Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic coming to mind.

Ferguson raised a few eyebrows when he left his captain out of the Champions League side to face Real Madrid last week but he spoke of the situation after the game, hinting to Sky Sports that it was now a case of one of Ferdinand or Vidic alongside Evans, rather than the two together.

“Jonny has emerged as a real top defender and his form has been fantastic,” said Ferguson.

“The thing about young players, particularly defenders, when you get consistency from them you know you’re on the right track with them.

“I think Jonny has shown great consistency in the last year.”

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In light of the United chief’s indication that Ferdinand and Vidic will no longer play together in his side, just how highly do they rank in the history of defensive pairings at Old Trafford?

To start with, the two have won the Premier League more times than any other centre half duo, with four to their name, as well as two League Cups, and a Champions League. In my opinion however, I would class them as the second best partnership that the club have had, only behind the formidable Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister.

The Englishmen were at the heart of United’s success in the early 90’s. They helped the club end a 26 year long wait for a Premier League title, winning three in total, as well as three FA Cups and a Uefa Cup Winners Cup in the process of a partnership which lasted seven years consistently. They, along with Schmeichel in goal set the foundation for the success that has since followed.

Between the years of 2007 to 2010, Ferdinand and Vidic formed a duo that was one of, if not the best in European football at the time. Unfortunately, their playing time together has been damaged by injuries that they have picked up over the last few years which has hampered their chances of dominating together over as long a period of time.

I think the consistency and understanding that Bruce and Pallister showed over such a long duration is one of the main reasons why I would regard them as the best partnership, as ability wise there isn’t much to choose between them.

There are uncanny similarities between the two combinations in fact. Vidic encompasses the more no nonsense side of defending and bravery that Bruce used to show, both also possessing excellent aerial ability and strength. Ferdinand, while defensively astute, also has the ability to play out from the back comfortably and is good on the ball like Pallister was.

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Although it is all well and good making comparisons, it also has to be remembered that the game has changed in the period of time between the two partnerships. It could be argued that the quality of the Premier League has improved since the 90’s so it would be interesting to see how Bruce and Pallister would have coped in the modern era and vice versa.

As far as the current United team goes, I personally think that as good as Ferdinand has been this season, if Vidic is able to prove his fitness then him and Evans will become the first choice partnership at the back. At 31-years-old you could see Vidic having at least another two years left in him at the highest level , while Ferdinand is already 34-years-old. Evans also offers a lot of what the Englishman does, with his more measured style which can complement Vidic’s uncompromising approach perfectly.

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Former Arsenal and England forward Ian Wright has said that Newcastle United is the perfect place for young players that are struggling for football at top-four clubs.

Chelsea attacker Kenedy made the switch to Newcastle in the January transfer window after failing to secure first-team football in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign.

The 22-year-old is only on loan at St James’ Park, but the club’s supporters have taken to the Brazilian, who has managed two goals and two assists in his seven Premier League appearances for Rafael Benitez’s side.

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Wright has hailed Kenedy for making the decision to join Newcastle, and has urged more players in a similar situation to follow suit.

Wright told BBC Radio 5 Live:

“For me, Newcastle is the kind of place that if you’re a young player at a club like a Chelsea or a Manchester City, I would do anything to get to somewhere like Newcastle.

“You’re playing in front of massive crowds and you’ve got the opportunity to play in the Premier League and get that kind of support and Kenedy has done it – and he’s thriving on it.”

Newcastle gave their Premier League survival hopes a huge lift by beating Huddersfield Town 1-0 at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon. Benitez’s side currently sit in 12th position in the table – seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Manuel Pellegrini has been widely chastised for his tactical naivety this season. In the days gone by with Villarreal and Malaga, he was hailed as a master tactician. The ‘engineer’ moniker tagged to him was meant as a tribute to his degree in engineering, but also to his intelligence and ability to read the tactical side of the game so well. But now he is said to be naive.

With his previous sides, Pellegrini’s starting 4-4-2 was quite fluid, and when they didn’t have the ball, someone would drop into the middle to help the central midfielders defend. This would either be the wingers or the second striker. Pellegrini always defended with more than just his central midfield pairing in the middle of the pitch.

And this is what the pundits are asking him to do now – add more men into the middle to compete with other teams who use a midfield three.

But it’s not as if a 4-4-2 has never won the Champions League. And even last season, one of Europe’s best sides played 4-4-2 a lot of the time.

Diego Simeone set his Atletico Madrid team up in a 4-4-2 and got them to press the opposition relentlessly. They beat Barcelona by not giving them space when they got the ball, not giving Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta time to pick passes so easily. And we all know what can happen when those three pick passes easily.

But City are not a team that can be set up in a pressing system. Simeone imposes something like a military discipline in his team. It’s hard to imagine Silva, Aguero, Nasri et al flourishing in such a rigid system.

In the league, City do best when they build up a head of steam. When they are performing at their peak and once they get a goal, the opposition just can’t deal with the power of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho. City are a confidence side, and their league form shows that. When they get going, they are hard to stop, when they are off the boil, they stutter.

It is not quite the same in the Champions League, however, and City need to adapt. But would be wrong to say that Pellegrini doesn’t know this.

The way they play in the league is a much more attacking set-up than it is in the Champions League, and against Barcelona in the first leg two weeks ago, we didn’t see an expansive, free flowing City like we did only a few days later against Liverpool; we saw a defensive set up instead.

City can still beat Barcelona, and they can still catch Chelsea playing the same way.

This is a different Barcelona than we’ve seen in previous seasons. Many people have said that, but they mean it in a negative way, they mean that Barca are weaker. Whether they are or not is a discussion for a different day, but the addition of Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez does allow Barcelona to be more direct in possession, something they’ve never been able to do previously.

Rakitic looks to go forward more than Iniesta and Busquets. That is, he looks to pass forward, try through balls and get into shooting positions. And with Suarez up front, Barcelona have a real striker that will also look to be more direct, looking to play a killer ball or shoot rather than pass back to the midfield or defence.

This makes them less susceptible to pressing. When they are hassled, they can simply go into Suarez’s feet. They are still supremely quick with their passes, but what this boils down to is that Suarez can punish you more instantly than the preferred ‘death by a thousand cuts’ method of Xavi and Iniesta, even though they still have that in their locker.

So City needed to stifle Barca and not let them do this. And the 4-4-2 was the perfect way to do it. With no third midfielder, City just lined up in ‘banks-of-four’ and stopped Barca from going direct, and then had two men up front to do more than just counter when they had the ball. The two men could protect possession and bring Silva and Nasri into the game.

This happened in the first half, but Barca’s first goal had an element of luck, and their second was a mistake from Fernando. The Brazilian left his position in front of Kompany and in such a rigid 4-4-2 you can’t do that because it left Kompany exposed. The captain made a rash tackle to try and cover and as a result he was himself left out of position, and Barca’s goal was inevitable.

In the second half, City were much more accomplished in how they used their system, had a host of chances early on, got a goal to come back into the tie, and were dangerous up until Gael Clichy was sent off.

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Against Barca, City need a repeat performance of their second half in order to beat Barcelona. They’ll need to be more disciplined than they were in the first leg, and not make mistakes like Fernando’s or Vincent Kompany’s, but the basic game plan is the right one.

In the league, it’s a different story for City though. Their 4-4-2 isn’t as defensive as they made it look against Barca in the first leg, and will probably make it in the second. They attack with Toure as well as the wingers, and they are, at times, exposed at the back.

But when city build up a head of steam they can be unstoppable. It doesn’t matter that they lack a third man in the middle, they have more than enough firepower with Toure and Fernandinho to overpower most three-man midfields.

This is why the domestic 4-4-2 is different. City will have enough possession not to have to line up defensively and stifle them. They can just overpower the opposition.

If they can build up a head of steam after their week off, City can gain momentum. And like a boulder rolling downhill, they are very difficult to stop when they hit top speed. It will be a wonderful feat if City can stay in the Champions League next week and track down Chelsea in the league, but it isn’t impossible for a squad as good as theirs. Yet in order to gain this momentum in both competitions, City need to be good in both defence and attack, and Pellegrini’s 4-4-2 will help.

Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck has found this campaign tough going so far, struggling with a lack of playing time which has had the inevitable knock-on effect on his form and match fitness, so with his progress undeniably stalling, what is the best course of action to take regarding his future at Old Trafford?

Last season was a real breakthrough year for the 22-year-old as he established himself in the United starting line-up after a successful loan spell away at Sunderland the year before while also making a name for himself with the national team at Euro 2012. His form for England, to the tune of five goals in 14 appearances, plus numerous other lively displays, mark him out as a rare player who seems to perform better for his country than he does his club at the moment.

Nevertheless, nine Premier League goals in 30 appearances last season was a sound return for a young player and his goal against Manchester City in the 3-2 away win back in January pointed to a man capable of going up a class, with a fantastic curled shot right into the top corner. It seems that Welbeck has taken over the role that Dimitar Berbatov played in the squad last term, though, and after Javier Hernandez’s fine recent form these past couple of months he’s currently fourth-choice in the pecking order.

The club’s summer transfer business of bringing in both Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa has afforded Ferguson plenty of attacking options and he has regularly switched between formations as a result – 4-3-3, 4-4-1-1, 4-5-1 and 4-4-2 – and yet Welbeck has made just seven starts in the league, three in Europe and two cup outings, the meagre return of which has seen him score just a solitary goal in 22 appearances overall.

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After being linked with a loan move to top flight strugglers Reading this month, the club’s manager Brian McDermott moved to deny any such deal had been put in place, telling reporters: “I can’t see Sir Alex Ferguson sending Danny out to any club. I don’t know where this has come from, it’s got nothing to do with me. Welbeck’s a great player and I’m sure Sir Alex Ferguson thinks he’s a great player too. Everyone in the country thinks that.”

The forward is certainly highly rated and after his performances last year for the club, it looked as if a promising long-term future awaited him at United, and it still might, but the presence of van Persie appears to be blocking any path to the starting eleven and having an impact on his development; a loan move away now, while it may be advisable from the player’s perspective, would surely signify a backwards step at the same time, but the fact that it’s even a realistic option tells you everything you need to know about his season so far.

There are still those that remain somewhat unconvinced by Welbeck’s ability, and at times he can appear gangly and awkward on the ball, selfish in certain situations and lacking a killer touch in front of goal. On the flip side of that coin, he’s a versatile and tactically flexible player, while simultaneously being an instinctive finisher with an exceptional work ethic. It’s perhaps this very versatility which saw him granted so many first-team opportunities last season that is holding him back this term. He is not one to complain about his role in the side, so there’s a sense that he’s easy to take for granted. He will take that unforgiving role in a front three to drag defenders around with his movement, never getting a sniff of the action near goal.

The set-up of the side has been built entirely around van Persie, which has impacted on the positional futures of Rooney and Kagawa to an extent, while Nani has found playing time more and more difficult to come by. It’s clear that Ferguson simply has too many attacking options at his disposal to be able to fit them all into one side, even with rotation, yet he’s gone on the record before as stating that he believes having four strikers is essential for any title-winning side, just like he did in the past with Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

There’s a danger that despite being worth his weight in goals, that van Persie is having a destabilising effect on some of the squad’s other players with Ferguson reluctant to veer away his first-choice for any length of time. It will always be the Dutchman and one other and he enjoys a status that none of his forwards enjoyed last year, hence why Welbeck is seeing his chances to impress limited, restricted to cameo appearances off the bench. There’s simply less give and take in the starting eleven at the moment than in the past.

Welbeck has always seemed like an absolutely lovely chap off the pitch and he comes across as an enthusiastic and infectious presence in interviews; he clearly loves his job and feels lucky to be doing it and any suspicion of arrogance that dogged his early United career should be seen as little more than being eager to impress and perhaps trying to do too much. I say this because he seems a loyal character and it’s doubtful that he’ll agitate for a move anytime soon.

Ferguson has always had a fine tradition of balancing his squads with hungry young  local players and some of Europe’s top talents; a strand of Real Madrid’s ‘Zidanes y Pavones’ policy, but it seems to work here in England predominantly because of the man at the helm and his sheer force of character. For every Rooney there is a Fletcher, for every van Persie a Smalling and it seems that Welbeck, whereas last season it looked as if he was going to be part of the reputation-enhancing bracket, has sadly slipped back into the back-up option one instead.

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It’s too early to be talking about permanent moves away and Ferguson will not want to let him go, even with a healthy seven point lead over rivals Manchester City at the top of the table, so as callous as it sounds, he is simply going to have to be patient and do more damage when he does get the chance to impress.

His stock has significantly fallen and his development flat-lined so far this season, but the team is bigger than any one player, and just so long as it continues to thrive with van Persie at its spearhead, players like Welbeck will simply have to adjust.

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Chelsea face Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday in a clash that could well prove to be the final chapter in this season’s race for Champions League qualification. Although there’s still time to make amends, defeat will leave the fifth-placed Blues eight points behind the fourth-placed Lilywhites.

However, history just isn’t on Tottenham’s side here. Incredibly, they’re still yet to win a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, a run that could extend to a staggering 26 games this weekend. Add in the lack of love lost between these two London rivals, and their latest meeting should be another enthralling encounter. So, will history repeat itself or will Spurs seal off the top four?

This week’s experts, Llion Carbis from Chelsea FanCast and The Sun’s Sean Cook, share their thoughts and predictions ahead of Sunday’s 4pm kickoff.

This rivalry has been at the forefront of English football over the last few seasons. It was Chelsea who famously ended Tottenham’s title hopes in 2015/16, while the season after saw both clubs chase the top-flight crown and meet in a thrilling FA Cup semi-final. Now they’re essentially in a shootout for Champions League qualification.

Arsenal are of course Tottenham’s historic enemies, but do you now see Chelsea as the more important rivalry?

Sean: “Whether a Spurs fan or not, there’s just something about Chelsea that is so utterly dislikable – it’s always that bit sweeter to beat a team who have bought their success. Our rivalry with them over the last few seasons has naturally intensified whilst we’ve competed for similar feats, this season being no different. True, Arsenal will always be our main rivals, but we now compete for prizes they simply aren’t capable of anymore.”

If there were any claims of Chelsea being in something of a false position right now, they were surely extinguished throughout the last few weeks. The Blues have always fared well against high-quality opposition historically, but since late January they’ve lost to Arsenal, Barcelona twice, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Does that highlight the quality Chelsea lost last summer, or have there been recurring issues during these games?

Llion: “I think it’s a combination of both. At times, our tactics have been counter-intuitive. We often adopt the false nine strategy, which isolates our most creative player (Eden Hazard) and subjects him to useless long balls. On other occasions, you can question our mentality. As I’ve mentioned previously, our confidence seems to disappear when we concede – this fragility must be addressed against the big teams. Otherwise, we’re likely to face similar outcomes to our games against Manchester City and United.”

Mauricio Pochettino faces a fair few selection dilemmas this weekend. His versatile squad is more than capable of matching up with Chelsea’s 3-4-3 system, but Tottenham have stuck with 4-2-3-1 pretty religiously in recent months and the results, losing just once across all competitions since facing Manchester City in December, speak for themselves.

On top of that, Harry Kane is a major doubt after suffering an injury prior to the international break, and Dele Alli’s suffered something of a humbling week – seemingly losing his place within the England team amid what has been a slightly underwhelming season for the youngster.

Should Pochettino match up with Chelsea’s system on Sunday?

Sean: “Despite a tease from Pochettino, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see Kane start at Stamford Bridge this weekend. As a result, sticking to 4-2-3-1 is probably the best way to go. Most of Chelsea’s creativity hails from their midfield, so making that area as congested as possible will help to keep them quiet. We proved against Bournemouth that without our star man, Heung Min-Son is more than capable of leading the line alone.”

And does Alli deserve to start?

Sean: “Starting Alli is a no-brainer for Spurs. I’m quite puzzled where all this negative press has come from lately. His place in the England team is still a guarantee, with his omission in the recent friendlies down to an injury and tactical rotation, as Gareth Southgate has said. I expect Alli to sit behind Son alongside Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen this weekend, so much so that I’d put my house on it.”

Who do you see as Tottenham’s biggest threat in the absence of Kane?

Sean: “He scored in that iconic game that was dubbed ‘the battle of the bridge’, and I’m fearful that Son could play a pivotal role on Sunday. He has contributed to 16 goals in the league this season – scoring 12 and assisting four. His dribbling ability is superb, and he runs purposefully. Moreover, his technique is faultless, and he’s a skilful player. We must be aware of the threat that he poses.”

For all the talk about tactics and systems though, sometimes matches of this importance come down to which side dominates the key individual battles. There will be plenty of those on Sunday, and we’ve seen before how fiercely contested they can be between these two sides.

Where will this game be lost and won?

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Llion: “Personally, I feel that the primary battle will take place at the heart of the pitch. If N’Golo Kante’s partner (whomever that may be) is performing to the best of his abilities, then I’m confident we can dictate proceedings in midfield. If not, then the physicality and composure of Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier could provide Spurs with the perfect platform to attack us. We must ensure that we win the physical battle, and we don’t allow their midfield partnership to determine the game’s pace and tempo.”

Sean: “The midfield battle will be key. Dembele and Dier will need to be at their very best if they’re to stop the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Willian from producing their typical brilliance. The key to keeping Spurs quiet this season has been to isolate Dembele, which only a handful of clubs have been capable of. If Chelsea can’t contain him, Spurs could be looking at a record-breaking win.”

And finally lads, let’s hear your score predictions…

Sean: “Chelsea 2-2 Spurs.”

Llion: “I hope our distinguished record will be extended. 2-1 Chelsea.”

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According to a recent study by sportsdirect.com, over 50% of Liverpool jerseys have been purchased in LONDON as of last year. So where are the Liverpool fans in Liverpool?

For years, Liverpool have possessed and utilised some of the best forwards in the world. The likes of Kenny Daglish, Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush, Fernando Torres and more recently Luis Suarez have electrified the Kop with dazzling performances. These stars left the fans in awe and created flair about Liverpool football club. However, after the recent departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona, they are stuck with Balotelli as the apparent Super Star’ to guide them to glory.

Liverpool’s misfortune in front of goal can best be summed up by Balotelli’s record of the most shots in the league without a goal so far this season.  If Balotelli could focus more on finishing than on his hair or off-field antics, maybe fans will begin to wear the Liverbird more proudly on their chests?

Another explanation could be the rise of Everton. Within the last couple of years, Everton have slowly begun to establish themselves as potential European contenders. In the 2013-14 seasons, new coach Roberto Martinez led the team to an astounding 72 points which was just short of a Champion’s League spot.

An even more depressing statistic is that the city of Liverpool is responsible for just under 7% of Liverpool jerseys sold. The golden age of Liverpool seems to have faded with the fans, as the last top-flight trophy that was lifted in Liverpool was nearly 25 years ago.

Although the city of Liverpool appears to be struggling to sell the shirts of its most famous club, Reds fans are still scattered all over England, and Brendan Rodgers hopes to bring the Liverbird and fans back to life this season…

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West Ham centre back Winston Reid is set to sign a new long term deal at the East End club when this season comes to an end.

The New Zealand international has arguably been the Hammers’ best player this season and Sam Allardyce is understandably keen to hold onto him.

Reid has become a fans favourite amongst the Upton Park faithful; partly due a winning goal against Millwall last year; and has formed a solid partnership with James Collins at the back this season.

With West Ham slowly slipping down the table after a few bad results, rumours circulated that clubs may take a punt on Reid in January.

The likes of Reid and Mo Diame have attracted attention after West Ham’s solid start, but it seems the unity amongst the squad is strong.

Reid has revealed that he is in contract talks with the club and is more than happy at the Hammers.

“We are talking,” Reid told the Daily Star.

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“There’s an option in there for both parties to take another two years at the end of the season.

“I’ve always wanted to stay here. I enjoy being here.”

Everton fans will never miss an opportunity to bash manager Sam Allardyce, even when he’s talking about his side’s first away win since December.

Cenk Tosun was the star of the show for Everton on Saturday, as the Turk grabbed both goals in the Toffees’ dramatic 2-1 win at Stoke City.

Allardyce claimed back in February that Tosun wasn’t playing because he was struggling with the cold, but the 26 year-old striker has since scored four goals in three games.

If he was struggling the cold, he certainly didn’t show it on Saturday as he buried two clinical poacher’s goals in the snow at Stoke.

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Everton fans have been growing increasingly frustrated not only with Big Sam’s uninspiring tactics but also his demeanour, and many are desperate for the club to replace him with Shakhtar Donetsk’s Paulo Fonseca this summer.

Allardyce hailed Tosun as a “complete finisher” in his post match comments, which has draw plenty of criticism from the Goodison faithful, who have wanted Tosun to get more minutes since he joined.

Everton have home matches against Manchester City and Liverpool after the international break, so Allardyce and the fans will at least be together in hoping the Turk continues his fantastic form.

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Some of the best Twitter reactions to Allardyce’s comments can be found below…

Luis Suarez has urged his former club Liverpool not to panic and to stand by Brendan Rodgers as they look to secure Champions League qualification for next season.

The Uruguayan ace – who netted 31 goals for the Reds last term – left Anfield to join Barcelona in a £75m deal over the summer, in what has widely been hailed as the major reason in the Merseysiders’ dip in form.

Liverpool took the Premier League title race to the final day of 2013/14, but were ultimately unable to lift the trophy.

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Yet, the campaign as a whole has gone down as one of the club’s most exciting in recent memory, with a return to the Champions League booked while exciting football was witnessed.

Yet with Rodgers’ side sitting in midtable and out of Europe’s biggest competition already, many fans of the Kop club are calling for the Northern Irishman to be dismissed.

However, Suarez believes that his former boss is the right man to get Liverpool into the top four once again, or win the Europa League:

“Liverpool will be disappointed not to progress out of their group, but the most important thing is that they were back playing at the highest level this season and it gives them something to build on,” he is quoted by The Metro.

“The reason they were back playing Champions League football is because of Brendan Rodgers – and he is the right man to guide them back there again next season.

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“They must qualify for The Champions League next season. If it comes via the league or winning the Europa League – it is not important how.

“This season can’t be a one off, though, because the Champions League is where the club belongs and it is what the fans expect.”

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