Luis Suarez returns to face his former team when Barcelona play Liverpool in a preseason friendly at Wembley on Saturday. The high-profile International Champions Cup match is sure to be all about Suarez, who enjoyed three fruitful years at Anfield before making his move to the Camp Nou in 2014.
Suarez, who has formed a mouthwatering partnership with Lionel Messi and Neymar, who is currently at the Rio Olympics, has gone onto bigger things since switching clubs to Barcelona, his love for the English club still remains, with the Uruguay international looking forward to meeting up with his old teammates, particularly the Brazilian Philippe Coutinho.
"I played against him when Uruguay played Brazil but I think Philippe with Liverpool is different," Suarez told the club's official website. "He is the boss of the team on the pitch because he controls everything. I know he is excited to play against me and Barcelona, too.
"I remember the people, the supporters, the managers I had. And I have friends in the people that work in the kitchen as well. They know they helped me a lot there and I miss them."
While Suarez would have loved to play this friendly at Anfield, Wembley is not that bad a substitute and with a capacity crowd expected to cheer on the two teams, Barcelona, led by the Uruguayan and Lionel Messi, will be keen to make an impression.
Jurgen Klopp will need to be careful about how and who he plays against Barcelona, who have already beaten English opposition in Premier League champions Leicester City, considering the Reds are set to face the manager's former team Mainz on Sunday. Klopp is expecting a difficult encounter against the Spanish champions, while preparing himself for an emotional reunion with former club Mainz.
"It's quite busy again and I've said a few times in this preseason you need to create special situations to go through," Klopp told reporters. "The Barcelona game is one where always anything can happen, they are always really strong. Everybody could see that against Leicester they still can play football so that will be a real test for us.
"I'm quite sure the next day, the match against Mainz from the intensity side it could be more than against Barcelona. Maybe it's (the Mainz friendly) only a big game for me on our side, but it's a big game for them 100% so that will be really tough too so that's good.
"But in the plans it's nice to think about Barcelona and that you are coming home to Mainz or whatever but now it's work, only work and nothing to enjoy."
Where to Watch Live
Liverpool vs Barcelona is scheduled for a 9.45 p.m. IST (5.15 p.m. BST, 6.15 p.m. CET) start.
India: TV: Sony ESPN/HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
UK and Ireland: TV: Sky Sports 1/HD and LFCTV. Live streaming: Sky Go and LFCTV Go.
USA: TV: ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Live Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Sport online.
Singapore: TV: Starhub and Bein Sports.
China: TV: Guangdong Sports and LeTV.
Thailand: TV: PPTV.
Malaysia: TV: Hypp TV.
Middle East and North Africa: TV: Bein Sports Arabia 11. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
