James Pearce and Simon Hughes are alongside Tony Evans as Liverpool kicked off their pre-season schedule in emotional circumstances against Preston North End.

James was in attendance at Deepdale as Liverpool played for the first time since the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva. The tributes at the games and reaction of the supporters is discussed as well as the leadership shown by Arne Slot through the difficult time for the club.

Looking to the rest of pre-season, the panel preview the upcoming tour of Asia in which the Reds will play games in both Hong Kong and Japan while assessing which youngsters could be afforded opportunities on tour. Within that, we also analyse how difficult the task is for the younger members of Slot's squad in trying to work their way into the first team picture with the Premier League champions.

Email: walkon@theathletic.com

Host: Tony Evans

With: James Pearce and Simon Hughes

Producer: Guy Clarke

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