Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's text coverage of Liverpool's friendly encounter with Olympiacos. The match marks the start of the Reds' International Challenge Cup campaign in the United States, and provides manager Brendan Rodgers with the opportunity to intensify pre-season preparations with the Premier League season less than three weeks away.

Before looking at the starting lineups for tonight's match at Soldier Field, there's some big transfer news involving Liverpool to bring you. Defender Dejan Lovren has joined from Southampton on a "long-term deal", as the Reds have described it, and will join up with the squad stateside later this week.

Liverpool starting lineup! Jones, Johnson, Skrtel, Toure, Enrique, Gerrard, Henderson, Can, Sterling, Markovic, Sturridge

So, as expected, Rodgers has named a strong looking side to take on the Greek outfit tonight. World Cup 'stars' - and I use that word lightly - Glen Johnson, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard all feature, while £20m summer signing Lazar Markovic also starts.

As ever, the main intention of these pre-season fixtures is to get players up and running ahead of what is sure to be a gruelling campaign. Liverpool enjoyed a fantastic season on the whole last time out, albeit with a disappointing ending, and supporters are realistic enough to know that a repeat will be extremely challenging - particularly without star man Luis Suarez.

Olympiacos are by no means pushovers, and they will come into this game on a high following their resounding 3-0 victory against AC Milan in their opening game of the competition. Well, I say resounding, but the Italian giants are currently trailing Manchester City 5-1 in a game that was severely delayed because of weather conditions.

Lovren won't feature for Liverpool tonight, but he certainly seems happy to have joined the club...

I just signed a contract with one of the biggest club in football history, the great #LiverpoolFC !! pic.twitter.com/zZpZPvawj6

— Dejan Lovren (@DejanLovren05) July 27, 2014

MATCH DELAYED! As mentioned, the other game in this competition taking place tonight between Premier League champions Man City and AC Milan was delayed by around 30 minutes. That has had a knock-on effect with this match now being pushed back until the conclusion of that contest - which has around 25 minutes still remaining.

In the meantime, here's a clip to whet the appetite of Liverpool supporters across the globe. It involves a certain Steven Gerrard, a Champions League qualifier, and a whole load of Anfield drama.

That goal secured Liverpool's passage into the Champions League proper, and they went on to lift the trophy that season in the most incredible of circumstances against AC Milan in Istanbul. These sides have met since then, however, although that came in a friendly last summer in Jamie Carragher's testimonial.

PREDICTION! Turning attention back to tonight's friendly, it looks set to be an intriguing contest. The Thylos won their 41st Superleague title last season – cementing their position as the most successful side in the history of Greek football. Liverpool, on the other hand, have named a strong looking starting lineup, and even at this early stage of pre-season you still expect the likes of Gerrard and Sturridge to shine. I'm expecting a tightly-fought 2-2 draw.

Olympiacos starting lineup: Megyeri, Salino, Abidal, Siovas, Papadopoulos, N'Dinga, Maniatis, Dossevi, Ghazaryan, Saviola, Diamantakos

Well we were originally told that this game would follow after the other clash taking place in this competition, but the teams are out on the pitch, and we were just moments away from kick off. Olympiacos were late announcing their starting lineup for the game - pre-season mind games - and they've included Eric Abidal and Javier Saviola in their side.

KICKOFF:  KICKOFF! We are underway at Soldier Field with Liverpool kicking us off in their all-black kit.

Liverpool have spent the opening couple of minutes knocking the ball around in defence and midfield, attempting to find a way through the Olympiacos backline to no avail.

A positive raiding run from Glen Johnson is halted with a mistimed tackle, leading to a Liverpool free kick. Gerrard crossed the set piece into the box, but it was cleared away with ease.

GOAL!  GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Olympiacos (Sterling)

What a start for Liverpool! Sturridge's strike from the edge of the box was badly struck, but Sterling was in the path of the deflected effort to tuck the ball into the back of the net. Sturridge's effort may have been comical, but his England international teammate took his chance brilliantly from close range.

CHANCE! Almost an immediate response from Olympiacos. Johnson got himself into a mess at the back and went down rather easily, but Gevorg Ghazaryan's curling effort fails to find the target after he charged towards goal.

CHANCE! It's another opportunity for Olympiacos to draw level through Dimitris Diamantakos, whose effort inside the box was blocked en route to goal. Despite the early setback, the Greek outfit are certainly looking to better of the two sides now!

Olympiacos continue to knock the ball around and they look to have some added impetus to their play now after what was a slow start. The pattern is understandable in a way considering the lack of game time for many of these Liverpool players.

YELLOW CARD! Dimitrios Siovas. Our first glimpse of the Reds' new £20m signing Markovic is very promising as the midfielder charges towards the opposition area. He's scathed down by Siovas leading to the first booking of the night.

The resulting free kick is taken by Sturridge but it fails to beat the wall. The ball falls nicely to Gerrard on the rebound, however, but unlike in 'that' game in 2004 against the same opposition, he fails to get the right connection from the edge of the box and it flies well wide.

Olympiacos win a free kick in a wide position following a Gerrard challenge on Saviola. The Thrylos fail to make the most of the chance, though, with the wind taking the ball straight out of play. Brad Jones has yet to be tested.

Well they may not have tested Jones yet, but Olympiacos are putting together some nice moves. They're just lacking that final ball at the moment - although having stuck three past Milan last week, it's hard to see how!

Markovic leads a promising looking counter-attack for the Premier League outfit and finds Sterling in a central position. The youngster looks to put Henderson in, but his pass doesn't make it to his teammate, and the disappointingly attack breaks down.

YELLOW CARD! Javier Saviola. One of the main features of the 35 minutes of this match in Chicago has been the play acting of Saviola. The referee has seen enough and the former Barcelona and Real Madrid man is shown a yellow card for play acting.

CHANCE! Well the momentum has swung because it's Liverpool looking the liveliest of the two now, with Markovic again the focal point. The Serbian international found room inside the box to get a shot away at goal from an angle, but his curling effort had too much bend on it and didn't trouble Balazs Megyeri.

CHANCE! Brilliant tackle from Jose Enrique on Saviola. The Argentine latched onto a knockdown inside the box, but his path to goal was cut out by Enqrique who conceded a corner kick for his troubles.

A few Liverpool players are showing signs of fatigue now with half time approaching. Incidentally, both sides can make up to 11 substitutions during the game should they wish. I think Rodgers may make a large batch of those changes at the interval.

YELLOW CARD! Leandro Salino. There's a third yellow card of the night, this time awarded to Salino who brings down Sturridge on the halfway line. The Englishman was looking to break following an Olympiacos corner which broke down, so no surprise to see a card dished out.

YELLOW CARD! Glen Johnson. Quite incredibly, a fourth yellow card has now been handed out. This game has hardly been feisty, but Johnson's challenge on Salino was adjudged worthy of a booking.

Following a minute of added on time the half is brought to an end. Liverpool got off to the perfect possible start in their International Champions Cup opener courtesy of Sterling's close-range finish from Sturridge's miss-hit strike, but since then it's been far more balanced.

Brendan Rodgers will be using these games to experiment with different formations, and during the opening 45 minutes it was clear to see that Sturridge was being used as the focal point of the side. Markovic, who is being fielded on the left, has looked lively throughout, and Sterling on the opposite side has also looked good in patches.

A reminder if you missed the news before this game; defender Dejan Lovren today joined Liverpool from Southampton to become the Reds' fifth summer signing.

Rodgers: "I'm delighted Dejan can join us on our US tour." http://t.co/Q7ODOKfqLJ #LovrenLFC @LFCUSA pic.twitter.com/bscY1zdowC — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 27, 2014

Liverpool follow up this game with a tasty-looking meeting against Man City on Wednesday. The close proximity of games means that there's plenty of chances for Rodgers to experiment with his side ahead of the season opener against Southampton, and he's likely to make a string of changes at the interval here.

Sterling spoke in the build-up to Liverpool's tour of the States regarding his hopes of proving that last season was no fluke. It was a breakthrough year for the 19-year-old, who after Christmas was arguably his side's most important player alongside Suarez. His goal early on against Olympiacos was certainly a good way to start the campaign off.

PHOTO: #LFC celebrate @sterling31's goal against Olympiacos #lfctour pic.twitter.com/Vynz6EmbmE — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 27, 2014

LIVERPOOL SUBSTITUTIONS! Coutinho, Allen and Robinson have all been introduced for Liverpool at the break, with Enrique, Can and Markovic going off.

KICKOFF! We're back underway at Soldier Field. Liverpool will hope that the fresh legs can carry them through these next 45 minutes.

Coutinho is one of those players who can bring a team something different. He's already looking for intricate through-balls in these early stages of the second half, but so far nothing has come off.

OFF THE BAR! A let off for Liverpool as Ghazaryan strikes the bar with his effort from inside the box. The attacking midfielder left the Liverpool defence backtracking, and after nobody put a foot in he unleashed a strike which was just inches away from levelling the contest.

Liverpool have stuck with the same formation during the second period with Sturridge leading the line. Allen is continually dropping deep to collect possession from his centre-backs, while Gerrard is also being fielded as something close to a regista.

Countinho picks out Henderson in the centre with a fine ball from out wide, but he and Sturridge get in each others way on the edge of the opposition box. I'm sure Sturridge will be arguing that his teammate should have left the ball for him, but the pass was certainly intended for Henderson.

SHOT! Papadopoulos finds himself in acres of space in the centre of the field, and after failing to close him down, the Greece skipper opted to try his luck from range and it was very nearly a wonder goal! The effort dipped over the bar, but I'm not sure how much Jones knew about it!

SUBSTITUTIONS! Coates, Lucas, Kelly come on for Liverpool; Johnson, Toure, Gerrard go off. Olympiacos have opted to make a triple change of their own as Papadopoulos, N'Diga and Ghazaryan depart in place of Manolas, Kasami and Kolovos.

Skrtel produces a brilliant interception to deny the Superleague champions on the break. The contest is beginning to get stretched as more fresh players enter the field.

Well I've clearly cursed it with that last comment; nothing of note has happened since! Liverpool are knocking it around comfortably at the moment, and the movement of Coutinho and Allen - in different areas of the field - is looking promising for the Reds.

SUBSTITUTIONS! Sturridge and Sterling leave the field in place of Lambert and Ibe for Liverpool. Olympiacos, meanwhile, bring on Avlonitis, Papazoglou, Bouchalakis for Siovas, Dossevi and Diamantakos.

SHOT! A chance to see £4m new-boy Rickie Lambert, then. The striker, who was released by the club as a teenager, immediately gets a strike in at goal, but the effort was hit into the ground and failed to trouble Megyeri.

SHOT! The lively Countinho tries his luck at goal from range, and Megyeri looks rather worried as he dives down to his right. The attempt was off target, however, and ended up in the side-netting. Liverpool still holding a narrow 1-0 lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining in Chicago.

CHANCE! What a chance for Maniatis to level the match for Olympiacos. Allen's sloppy pass was intercepted by the midfielder, but he couldn't get a shot away after bearing down on goal thanks to Coates's covering challenge.

Seven minutes remaining and Sterling's early goal still separates the sides. Both teams have had chances, but right now it looks as though the Reds are going to hold out for the win.

Around 40,000 supporters are inside Soldier Field tonight - the vast majority of them backing Rodgers's charges.

Check out our gallery of #LFC fans in Chicago tonight at http://t.co/j2kBkW53am pic.twitter.com/R3F9XtUkIF — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 27, 2014

Lucas Leiva somehow avoids a booking following a poor, late challenge on one of his opponents. I would say it was down to frustration, but his side are a goal to the good up!

Hope for Olympiacos as the fourth officials signals that four minutes of added time will be played. The game's had a nice flow to it tonight, but has lacked any sort of major chance - time for that to change?

Time's ticking away for Olympiacos now, and they have just one minute to find an equaliser. They've held position for the last few minutes and they've just won a free kick by the corner flag.

SAVE! Kelly clears the corner, but the ball finds its way to Samaris whose sweetly struck effort is kept out by Jones with his first real save of the game. Straight down the other end Ibe looks to square the ball to Allen who is just yards from goal, but the ball is cut out to deny the midfielder a chance of scoring.

It's all over in Chicago as Liverpool hold out to win their opening International Champions Cup game. Raheem Sterling's fifth-minute goal separated the two sides in a match that lacked any real major chances.

In fact, the first time goalkeeper Brad Jones was called into action was with just seconds remaining, when he was equal to Samaris's strike. Pre-season is all about fitness, of course, and on that front Liverpool can be more than happy with their night's work.

Next up for last season's Premier League runners-up is a meeting with the side that pipped them to the title - Manchester City. Olympiacos, meanwhile, also face City in their next game as they conclude their International Champions Cup campaign.

Well that's all from me, folks. Stick around on Sports Mole as we bring you a full match report and reaction from tonight's friendly meeting.