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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Evans is joined by James Pearce and Simon Hughes as tributes continue to be shared following the sudden and sad passing of Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva.

We're also joined by The Athletic's Jack Lang who travelled out to Gondomar last week to observe the public wake and funeral in the hometown of the Silva family. We hear the impact Jota had on the local community and the influence he had on the wider region too.

The panel also discuss how Liverpool process and deal with grief as the club beginning to prepare for the start of the new season with confirmation Sunday's pre-season friendly with Preston North End at Deepdale will go ahead as planned.

Email: walkon@theathletic.com

Host: Tony Evans

With: James Pearce, Simon Hughes and Jack Lang

Producer: Guy Clarke

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Evans, James Pearce and Simon Hughes reflect on the tragically sad news Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has died at the age of 28 along with his brother Andre Silva.

The brothers were travelling by car in Spain when their vehicle left the carriageway and burst into flames in the early hours of Thursday morning.

In this episode, we pay tribute to Diogo Jota sharing memories of the person and the player. The Athletic's Tim Spiers, who covered Wolverhampton Wanderers when Jota initially moved to England also shares his memories having interviewed him a number of times during his time at Molineux.

Host: Tony Evans

With: James Pearce, Simon Hughes and Tim Spiers

Producer: Guy Clarke

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.