Liverpool’s new Main Stand towers over Anfield ahead of first home game of the season

Liverpool supporters arriving at Anfield tonight for the first home game of the season will see a very different skyline around the stadium.

Photo: chrismorgs10 (Instagram)

The Reds host Premier League new boys AFC Bournemouth (8pm UK time kick off) looking to build on their opening weekend win over Stoke City.

Much has changed around Anfield since it last hosted a match – the defeat to Crystal Palace on Steven Gerrard‘s final home appearance back in May.

The new Main Stand, which will open next season, has seen huge development take place, with the huge roof truss now dominating the skyline for miles around.

Liverpool physio Chris Morgan posted a photo of the view from inside the stadium, with the new stand above the old Main Stand.

Work on the new stand will continue throughout the 2015/16 season, with the new Main Stand being built behind the existing structure. It will then be a busy summer to merge the two stands together, removing the existing seats and placing in new seats for what will form the lower tier of the stand.

The completed view from the stand is shown below in these images:

The new Main Stand will take Anfield’s overall capacity to close to 54,000. The club will then decide whether to go ahead with expansion of the Anfield Road End – for which outline planning permission has been granted and would include the potential for apartments in the new stand.

Stay tuned to This Is Anfield throughout the day for more buildup ahead of the game.

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Power Rankings: Everton & City big winners

Manchester City: Claimed five points for routing Chelsea

Everton, Manchester City, Leicester and Norwich were the week's main Power Rankings winners, with Manuel Pellegrini's side now second overall.

We're not going to be petitioning FIFA for a change to the points system any time soon, but imagine if points were awarded based on the difficulty of the result achieved.

Chelsea and Swansea both claimed a point each for their draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, for example, despite it being a far better result for the visitors than it was the defending Premier League champions.

So, as an alternative to the official table, this season we'll be using an algorithm based on bookmaker odds and winning margins to award points from 0.5 up to 10, ensuring the teams that attack and go for glory with the odds stacked against them are rewarded more than those teams that claim their points through a series of 1-0 home wins over the league's struggling teams.

*Following feedback we received last week, we have slightly altered our algorithm, meaning Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City all claimed an extra point for their wins.

Week 2

Everton - 7: Roberto Martinez's men were firm outsiders going into Saturday's trip to Southampton yet left St Mary's with not just a win but an impressive 3-0 one.

Manchester City - 5: Manuel Pellegrini's side also claimed a 3-0 win over the weekend, over one of their main title rivals to boot, earning the Citizens the second highest score of gameweek two.

Leicester - 4: The Foxes had lost on seven of their last eight trips to Upton Park and were expected to do so again against a West Ham side that shocked Arsenal on the opening weekend.

Norwich - 4: Norwich were slight favourites to win at Sunderland, but a two-goal winning margin earns Alex Neil's side bonus points.

Stoke - 3: They claimed only a point in reality, but coming from two goals behind to hold Tottenham at White Hart Lane earns Stoke three Power Rankings points.

Swansea - 3: A straightforward home win over Newcastle sees Swansea pick up three points, exactly what they claimed in reality.

Arsenal - 2: Arsene Wenger's side, however, claim only two points for their narrow win at Crystal Palace having been odds-on favourites.

Manchester United - 2: Now four points down on their actual points tally, United's lack of goals is costing them points early on. They won 1-0 at Aston Villa.

West Brom - 2: We suspect Tony Pulis would like this - West Brom ground their way to a point at Watford but claim two points in the Power Rankings.

Watford - 1: The newly-promoted Hornets, however, claim only a point having been favourites to win at Vicarage Road.

Tottenham 0.5: A two-goal win over Stoke would have earned Spurs three Power Rankings points but their collapse sees them claim only a half point.

Power Rankings

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Power Rankings, 2015-16
Team	Power Rankings Points	Official Points
West Ham	10	3
Manchester City	9	6
Swansea	8	4
Everton	7.5	4
Leicester	7	6
Aston Villa	5	3
Crystal Palace	5	3
Manchester United	4	6
Norwich	4	3
Watford	4	2
Liverpool	3	3
Stoke	3	1
Arsenal	2	3
West Brom	2	1
Newcastle	1	1
Southampton	1	1
Chelsea	0.5	1
Tottenham	0.5	1
Bournemouth	0	0
Sunderland	0	0

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Emre Can will be “outstanding” in defensive midfield role, claims Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers has talked up the effectiveness of Emre Can in a deep-lying midfield role, predictably hailing the German as “outstanding”.

The 21-year-old produced an influential performance from the substitutes’ bench in the 1-0 win at Stoke in the Reds’ Premier League opener, slotting in nicely at the heart of midfield.

With Lucas Leiva’s future up in the air, and Jordan Henderson and James Milner preferred in more attack-minded areas, Rodgers believes Can is perfect in a deeper role, despite being versatile enough to thrive anywhere.

“I think he can play and operate in any one of the three (midfield) positions,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“When I met Emre and having seen him play in a whole raft of positions his great attribute is that he’s a footballer, he understands the game.

“Whatever role he’s asked to play he has this inbuilt brain for football that allows him to adjust and adapt.

“But when I met him I asked him his preferred position, where he sees himself playing and that was as a controlling midfield player and that’s where I’ve always felt he’ll be an outstanding talent for us.

“As you see he can play in the back three, against Newcastle he played as one of the two centre-halves when we played a back four and was comfortable.

“But I think his passing range, his strength, his power he’s best in midfield and I think once again he’s finding his fitness.”

The 21-year-old has made huge strides since arriving on Merseyside last summer, and has the potential to become one of the most dominant midfielders in Europe in the coming years.

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Sean O’Driscoll on challenging Brendan Rodgers and life at Liverpool

Liverpool No 2 Sean O’Driscoll says he and Brendan Rodgers‘ relationship is thriving because he is allowed to challenge the Ulsterman.

The Reds assistant manager was a surprise replacement for Colin Pascoe during the summer, but is someone whose coaching methods have been lauded by many.

The 58-year-old believes that the freedom Rodgers is giving him to speak his mind is working well in terms of their professional relationship at Liverpool.

“I think Brendan wants me to challenge and say what I think about doing things,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“I think Brendan wants me to challenge and say what I think about doing things.

“This is what the stats say, this is what the video evidence says, this is what the training footage we review says about this player.

“It’s not to say ‘do this or do that’, but comment on how I think we can maximise the resources and the talent that we have got.

“I think that’s easy but you still have to be careful how you do it. You have to show respect.

“I wouldn’t like it if someone came into my club and suddenly went ‘you should be doing this or that’. It’s pointless doing it that way.

“I’ve gone around most of the staff and asked them what they want the team to be. What do they want? I’ll tell you in about a month’s time.”

These methods feel a definite upgrade on Pascoe, who despite being a loyal deputy to Rodgers from their Swansea days onwards, was never really perceived as somebody who would challenge Rodgers or bring new ideas.

O’Driscoll also revealed how when he first received a missed call from Rodgers in the summer, he thought the Liverpool boss was just calling for a check up on England under-19 attacker Sheyi Ojo.

“To experience it first hand has been the biggest shock and a pleasant surprise in some senses. People can talk about it but when you go to the other side of the world and see how many Liverpool supporters there are it’s amazing.”

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Brendan Rodgers confirms Dejan Lovren’s centre-back role alongside Skrtel

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has made it clear that Dejan Lovren‘s place in the side is very much his to lose this season.

The Liverpool Echo claims that the Croatian will continue to be relied upon alongside Martin Skrtel for the foreseeable future, following an impressive showing against Stoke City eight days ago.

There has been much said about Mamadou Sakho‘s exclusion from the team, but Rodgers has once again made it clear what his preferred centre-back pairing is.

“I thought he (Lovren) was very, very good last week. I think it’s confidence. I felt – and I said it last year – in his second year he’ll be a better player here,” he said.

“It’s such a huge move to come to a club like this and it’s only when they’re in they recognise the expectations that are here.

“It was about trying to find that balance early on in pre-season. We’ve got excellent players here in Sakho, Kolo, but centre-halves will tell you it’s about finding that comfort with a partner, that partnership.

“And I thought the two centre-halves were very good last week and Dejan in particular where he’s aggressive, good in the air, his reading of the game was good and his passing was simple but effective.

“I think he’s gained confidence in pre-season and hopefully that will be maintained.”

Lovren has been a flop since signing for £20million from Southampton last summer, but the early signs in 2015/16 are certainly encouraging.

The 26-year-old will start for the Reds tonight against Bournemouth at Anfield, as Rodgers’ side look to maintain their winning start to the season.

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Brendan Rodgers backs Dejan Lovren to claim regular place in Liverpool defence

Dejan Lovren: Tipped to recover from shaky first season at Anfield

Brendan Rodgers believes Dejan Lovren's renewed confidence will see the Croatian become a regular in LIverpool's defence this season.

The £20million signing from Southampton last summer was supposed to provide the leadership Rodgers thought his side had been lacking since the retirement of veteran Jamie Carragher, but things quickly went downhill for the new arrival.

Some shaky performances resulted in him being dropped in November and although he made fleeting appearances in the rest of the campaign he looked well short of providing what was required of him.

This summer Lovren has been given plenty of pitch time in pre-season to establish a partnership with Martin Skrtel, the club's senior centre-back, and the pair was partly responsible for the clean sheet kept in last weekend's win at Stoke.

"I thought he was very good last week and that is confidence. I always felt in his second season he will be a better player," said Rodgers.

"It is such a huge move to come here and it is only when you are in you realise the expectation.

"It was about trying to find that balance in pre-season. We have excellent central defenders in (Mamadou) Sakho and Kolo (Toure) but it is about finding that confidence in a partnership and I thought they were excellent.

"Dejan in particular was aggressive, good in the air, his reading of the game was good and his passing was simple but effective.

"I think he has gained confidence over pre-season and I hope that will be maintained."

Lovren will start alongside Skrtel again for Monday's visit of Premier League newcomers Bournemouth.

Rodgers is keen to kick-off their home form with a win to set the tone for the rest of the season having dropped 22 points at Anfield last term.

"Building confidence early on is important, that is key. Getting the vibrancy and level of football - and obviously winning," added the Reds boss.

"If you can do that early on that creates confidence and I am looking forward to seeing this team evolve.

"Home form is so important if you are going to succeed.

"When you have confidence that will give you the success and the confidence comes from working hard and getting victories at home.

"Our aim every game is to be on the front foot. We are a team who want to dominate and that will always be the case, particularly at home."

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Rodgers on Coutinho: “He is only going to get better”

Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho‘s omission from Brazil’s squad has left manager Brendan Rodgers bemused.

The 23-year-old, who produced a stunning strike to earn victory at Stoke last weekend, has been dropped in favour of veteran Kaka despite playing at this summer’s Copa America.

Coutinho provided many of Liverpool’s genuine touches of quality over a difficult 12 months and Rodgers was stunned to see national team coach Dunga leave him out for friendlies against Costa Rica and the United States.

“I was very surprised. With everything I had seen last season, with the changes in the squad, he was going to be one of the flagship players for the new dawn of Brazilian football,” said the Reds boss.

“It is hard to understand. He made team of the season in the hardest league in the world, how he cannot be in the squad is incredible really.

“I spoke to him at length on Friday about it and of course he is disappointed but his only focus is on Liverpool.

“He is a really humble boy, a proud man for his country, so I am sure he will pick up the form he has shown over the last 18 months and I am sure it will not be long before he is back in it.”

Last season saw Coutinho score eight times, including spectacular goals against Southampton, Manchester City and Bolton, and provide the guile in Liverpool’s midfield but Rodgers knows there is more to come.

“It is just about consistency. We have started to see that in his game,” he added.

“He is also the type of player whose numbers will be important: it is about creating and scoring goals – that is the level he is working to get to.

“You saw last week towards the end of the game he has that magic which can win you a game out of nothing and we have seen over time here how he has adjusted to life at this level.

“He is only going to get better.”

PREVIEW: Liverpool vs. AFC Bournemouth – Team news, options and predicted lineup

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