The emerging star of the Liverpool team last year was skillful teenage winger Raheem Sterling, who went from a promising youngster to the most exciting part of the England set-up during the World Cup in just twelve months. Sterling has matured a lot during that time and is likely to be a greater threat to Southampton than he was in the equivalent fixture last year. Brendan Rodgers has experimented with both a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3 during pre-season friendlies, so the shape of the Liverpool line-up remains to be seen. It is likely, though, that Sterling will start down the right flank where his pace and skill is likely to cause trouble for Southampton's new left back. The departure of Luke Shaw for Manchester United is Southampton's record sale and his replacement may struggle to fulfill the same role for the club that Shaw did last season. Ryan Bertrand, on loan from Chelsea for the season, performed well in the second half of last year when loaned to Aston Villa, so he will want to continue that solid form for Southampton. It will be a tricky start for the twice capped England international, though, with Sterling perhaps one of the hardest to play opponents that he is likely to face all season.
