Good afternoon! Brendan Rodgers is due to speak to media at Liverpool's Melwood training ground in the next 15 minutes.

Liverpool won't be starting their new campaign tomorrow; they host Southampton on Sunday as they look to go one better than last season's second-placed finish.

It's an intriguing match-up. Liverpool have been busy in the transfer market, signing a number of players so far, including three from Southampton - although Adam Lallana is expected to miss out with injury.

One player who won't be available for Liverpool this weekend is Alberto Moreno. According to the Liverpool Echo, the club was unable to register the Sevilla player's paperwork in time to feature at Anfield this week.

Liverpool have a potentially tricky start to the new season. After Southampton, the Reds will go to the current champions Manchester City, followed by another away game at Tottenham Hotspur, as well as the first Merseyside derby of the season before the end of September.

Of course, this will be Liverpool's first competitive match since the departure of Luis Suarez. Last season's top scorer left the club following another biting incident to join Barcelona, with Daniel Sturridge expected to take over as the team's top scorer.

It looks like the manager is running a few minutes late. The press conference was due to get underway at 2pm, but there's no sign of Rodgers yet.

Here he is! Let's see what the Reds boss has to say...

Rodgers starts with an injury update. He confirms that Jon Flanagan is still in rehab for his knock, while Adam Lallana will also miss the chance to play against his former club. New signing Lazar Markovic is also out, as is Daniel Agger.

Liverpool have prepared with a pre-season tour in America, and also faced Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund last weekend. Rodgers says: "Pre-season was good, finishing with an excellent game against Dortmund last weekend. We're really excited to get going."

As we mentioned in the build up, Liverpool have signed three players - Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren, from Southampton. When asked about the number of players that have left this weekend's opponents over the summer, Rodgers replies: "Every club loses players, but they will hope they have the objectives to continue improving."

Last season was really a breakthrough campaign for Raheem Sterling, who went on to feature at the World Cup with England. Despite his performances over the last 12 months, the manager says: "I didn't say Raheem Sterling was like Lionel Messi. I was a bit shocked to read I'd said that. He's a great young talent though. Sterling is just one of a number of young players here with so much potential, we're looking forward to seeing their developments. I've not heard anything about Sterling being offered a new contract."

The subject of the transfer window is quickly brought up. With a couple of weeks still to go before the window shuts, Rodgers reveals: "We're nearly done with transfers. "There's one or two more things to complete. We needed to develop the squad this year, add more depth. The players we've brought in will allow us to deal with injuries and more games. We needed to bring in players this summer. This summer will probably be our biggest transfer window for the next two years."

Speaking of transfers, the boss confirms that the club are on the verge of completing a deal with Sevilla for Alberto Moreno: "Alberto Moreno deal is to be completed very soon and he'll be a terrific signing for us if that's done."

On the subject of the title race, Rodgers admits that he is hoping to be involved at the top of the table again this season, although admits that the focus is more likely to be on the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea this year.

The potentially tricky subject of Suarez is brought up, but the manager believes that his squad can cope without the Uruguay international's contributions: "Suarez was a great talent, but we scored more goals from other parts of team. We've got goals in the team, intensity, Suarez leaving makes no difference to that, we've proved that before."

Rodgers finishes by confirming that there is no update to Glen Johnson's contract situation. The defender is currently heading into the final season of his deal at Anfield.

That concludes Rodgers's press conference. The Liverpool manager focused more on the season ahead than the match itself, but seemed in a positive move heading into the weekend. The impending arrival of Moreno will be welcome news for Liverpool fans, along with the promise of one or two more signings to come in what has already been a busy summer for the club.

Well that's all from this press conference, but stick around for Louis van Gaal's first press conference of the season, and join us again on Sunday to see how Liverpool get on against Southampton. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon, goodbye.