Luis Suárez

[RichC]

I'd give him most of the game vs. the Mancs, as much game time is needed as possible now.

[Tee]

He is match fit already by all accounts so my idea was just to give him some time with the team again without risking him for the whole game. With our luck right now he could be out again....

[RichC]

They say he's match fit but I find it hard to believe he really is. injuries are always a worry especially at the moment but a risk I think we should take.

Get back to winning ways asap

[Fernandinho]

Have to surely start him and give him 1 hour, its the only way he can get back to close to full fitness, if he needs to come off early then do so, but he needs to get in from the start I think. It is hugely important that he is ready to go vs Sunderland because after a draw and a loss we really need to get back to winning ways to keep up with the top 4. Once we drop behind those top 4 is only going to get harder.

[Bender]

Training today

[BigChief]

We had to lay the foundations for his return. Two points behind league leaders is more than sufficient. Lets get busy.

[Yozza]

Come on Voleman - send Moysies Utd packing....

[Neil Young]

Liverpool's Luis Suárez 'chomping at the bit' to return after bite ban

• Suárez has served 10-match ban for biting
• Striker could be selected to face Manchester United

theguardian.com, Monday 23 September 2013 15.11 BST



Luis Suárez clashes with Branislav Ivanovic. The striker is 'chomping at the bit' to return, says his manager. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

The Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, says Luis Suárez is "chomping at the bit" to return – an unfortunate turn of phrase given that the striker has just served a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.

Suárez has not played since April last season after being suspended for the incident with the Chelsea defender but he is now available for Wednesday's Capital One Cup tie against Manchester United.

"It has been a really difficult time for him not playing games," said Rodgers, who confirmed a decision would be made in the next 24 hours whether the 26-year-old would start at Old Trafford. "How he has prepared himself over the last number of weeks has been fantastic.

"He's really chomping at the bit to help the team. Everyone knows the depth of his quality and his attitude. Once he gets back on the field again he will show what he has shown since he's been here."

Asked whether Suárez had learned his lesson Rodgers, suppressing a chuckle, said "We will see, we will see." He at least resisted any temptation to add that the striker was hungry to be back on the pitch.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...mping-bit-bite

[Tee]

FFS

[Slinky Skills]

Clearly done on purpose! Go on Brendog lad!

[shanks69]

you just know he will get the winner or sent off

[Neil Young]

you just know he will get the winner or sent off

"Or"?

[baitman]

might have been good to run that past susan black to proof read before he let the press get their teeth into in

[Pedenj]

"Or"?

You just know he'll make the headlines for something.

[Yozza]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24198722

Luis Suarez: Have Liverpool missed the striker?

He has dominated headlines, courted controversy and seemed destined to leave the Premier League - but Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is back.

The 26-year old has been out of action since starting a 10-game suspension for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in April and is available to face Manchester United in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday.

But a week ago it appeared Brendan Rodgers's side had been coping just fine without the controversial Uruguayan: Liverpool were top of the Premier League with forwards Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge playing with distinction.
Indeed, statistics show that since Suarez joined the club in January 2011, Liverpool's win ratio drops from 61% when Suarez is on the sidelines to 39% when he is playing, and that Sturridge has a better strike-rate when he plays without the former Ajax forward.
The England man has scored 11 goals in 10 games since Suarez was banned for biting Chelsea's Ivanovic last season.

So have Liverpool missed him?

On the face of it, Wednesday's cup tie against Manchester United is a potentially fraught occasion for Suarez to make his comeback, given that he received an eight-match suspension and a £40,000 fine for racially abusing United defender Patrice Evra in 2011.
But a shoulder injury to Coutinho, suffered in the 2-2 draw with Swansea, and a first defeat of the season by Southampton last Saturday where the team lacked the Brazilian's creativity, has increased the chances of Suarez being handed an immediate return.

"If you look at the results, Liverpool haven't really missed him and that is a testament to Sturridge and Coutinho," former Reds forward Robbie Fowler told BBC Sport. "But that's the good thing about Liverpool, they have a world-class player waiting in the wings.
"It will be baptism of fire against United but I think Suarez wouldn't want it any other way."

Suarez ended last season with 30 goals in all competitions but after two bans and a summer where he made clear his desire to leave the club, Liverpool fans might have been forgiven for losing their patience with him.

Liverpool's possible line-up with Suarez and Coutinho fit and available
And it has come at a time where Liverpool have shifted from a side reliant on Suarez's goals to one that can grind out results with a tight defence. Liverpool won each of their opening three league games 1-0, with Sturridge on the scoresheet each time.

That new-found resoluteness and a settled 4-2-3-1 formation may go some way to explaining why Liverpool have a lower win percentage with Suarez in the side than without him. Nine of the 18 Premier League games he has missed since joining the club in January 2011 have come during his recent ban.

His mantle as the team's most creative influence has also had competition from another diminutive South American - Coutinho.

And there are suggestions that the 21-year-old Brazilian is better at bringing the best out of Sturridge.

Coutinho leads the side for league assists since he joined the club in January and has set up more goals for Sturridge than any other player. In addition, Sturridge has scored nine goals in nine Premier League games without Suarez in the side compared to five in 10 when he has been played alongside him.

But Fowler believes that Rodgers will find room to accommodate both and give them licence to roam. Eventually he can see the Liverpool boss opting for a 4-3-3 formation with Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho as a fearsome front trio or a 3-5-2 with Coutinho pushing on to help the other pair.

"Sturridge has been phenomenal and is a nailed-on starter but I don't think Suarez will play deeper behind him," Fowler said. "He will probably play up front, drifting towards the left or the right and the pair of them will change roles throughout a game because they want to be involved."

Former Reds defender Mark Lawrenson added: "People keep saying to me 'where will Suarez play?'
"Well, he will play where he played when Liverpool signed Sturridge in January, which is coming in from the left as part of a front three.

"When Sturridge joined, Suarez was definitely the top man and scoring all sorts of goals. Brendan Rodgers moved things round, put Sturridge through the middle and asked Suarez to change his role a little bit and Suarez was happy with that. He just got on with it.
"He just wants to play and he is a dangerous forward player wherever you put him in the Liverpool system."

Liverpool beat Manchester United 1-0 at Anfield earlier this month where lone striker Sturridge operated in front of three attackers - Iago Aspas, Coutinho and Jordan Henderson.

Since then, on-loan forward Victor Moses has joined from Chelsea and has also come into the reckoning to add to Liverpool's considerable options and Rodgers is known to allow his front players the fluidity of movement to express themselves.

"If you look at all the signings Rodgers has made, they all point in the right direction of the way he wants them to play and the belief of getting into those Champions League positions," Fowler said.

"The players are happy with the manager, they want to play for him, and I think you can see that on the pitch."

Many inside Anfield will hope that Suarez does not spoil that equilibrium and can give Liverpool the added boost, rather than the bite, that they need.