Liverpool return to action today in their first pre-season friendly of the summer, against Preston North End at Deepdale Stadium. It will be an emotional afternoon for Arne Slot's side, who play their first game since the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota 10 days ago.
The Portuguese died along with his brother Andre Silva when the car they were driving through Spain veered off the road following a tyre blowout. What followed was an outpouring of grief from across the football world as Liverpool delayed their pre-season preparations so that team-mates, staff and friends could attend the funeral in Gondomar, Portugal.
Liverpool eventually returned to training on Tuesday, before consulting with players and staff to decide on whether this game would go ahead. The club also announced the retirement of the number 20 shirt which Jota wore.
The match will, then, go ahead, with [both clubs planning to pay tribute to Jota and Silva before the game.](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-announce-diogo-jota-andre-32039649) Supporters attending the match have been asked to be in their seats by 2.45pm ahead of the 3pm kick-off as a mark of respect to the brothers, with tributes then getting underway at roughly 2.50pm.
Claudia Rose Maguire - wife of former Preston player Sean - will first sing a rendition of Can’t Help Falling In Love, which will then be followed by Liverpool’s anthem of You’ll Never Walk Alone.
While the latter is sung, North End captain Ben Whiteman will lay a wreath in front of the visiting supporters in the Bill Shankly Kop, ahead of a minute’s silence just before kick-off.
The ECHO will be at Deepdale for live updates and coverage of the tributes, before we turn our attentions to the match and debuts of summer signings such as Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong. There will be live commentary, score updates and analysis, but all the TV channel and streaming information you need.
07:58Joe Rimmer
There will be a number of Diogo Jota tributes throughout this match, with it set to be an emotional occasion for all those involved.
Supporters attending the match have been asked to be in their seats by 2.45pm ahead of the 3pm kick-off as a mark of respect to the brothers, with tributes then getting underway at roughly 2.50pm.
Claudia Rose Maguire - wife of former Preston player Sean - will first sing a rendition of Can’t Help Falling In Love, which will then be followed by Liverpool’s anthem of You’ll Never Walk Alone.
While the latter is sung, North End captain Ben Whiteman will lay a wreath in front of the visiting supporters in the Bill Shankly Kop, ahead of a minute’s silence just before kick-off.
During the minute’s silence, digital tributes will be displayed on the big screen and across LEDs at Deepdale.
Both sets of players will also wear black armbands in honour of Jota and Silva, who was a player at Penafiel.
Preston have also created a commemorative edition of the matchday programme that features written tributes to the brothers.
The 16-page matchday programme will be free to all supporters with a match ticket on the day. There will be multiple members of staff around the ground handing out the programmes.
07:57Joe Rimmer
As mentioned earlier, these pre-season friendlies are often very interesting, with new signings getting their first chance of a runout, fringe players featuring and different tactics trialled.
Helpfully, Theo Squires has put together a piece looking at the different things to lookout for today when you're tuning it to watch the game.
[You can read it all here.](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/five-things-look-out-first-32047871)
Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz. (Image: Getty Images)
07:53Joe Rimmer
Today's game will be shown live on national TV. That decision, the ECHO understands, was made before Jota's death, with ITV picking the match up.
The game will be on ITV1, meaning it will be free to watch for all UK viewers. ITV1 can be accessed through Freeview, Sky TV, Virgin Media and EE TV. It can also be streamed on ITVx.
The programme is to begin at 2.40pm, 20 minutes before kick-off. Preston and Liverpool have clarified their tributes to Jota and Silva will begin at 2.50pm, 10 minutes before kick-off, so this will be included in ITV's broadcast.
Commentary will be provided by Joe Speight, who will be joined by former Reds defender Stephen Warnock. Fans can expect the final whistle around 4.50pm and ITV's programme will wrap up at 5.10pm.
Preston vs Liverpool will also be shown live on LFCTV, which requires a subscription, on Sky TV and Virgin Media. The club's coverage gets underway at the earlier time of 2.15pm and finishes at 5.15pm.
07:49Joe Rimmer
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to the ECHO's coverage of Liverpool's first pre-season friendly of the summer, with the Reds in action and Preston North End. It's usually a really interesting game in the calendar, but it's fair to say today will be quite different as the club continues to mourn the passing of Diogo Jota.
It means today's match will be a poignant one, with tributes planned ahead of what will be an emotional encounter.
Ian Doyle and Theo Squires will be at Deepdale to cover those tributes, as well as all the action following and more. Don't go away.