Liverpool forward Raheem Ster­ling needs protecting, not putting on a pedestal as England’s next great hope, according to manager Brendan Rodgers.

The talented 19-year-old has enjoyed a stellar nine months since regaining a place in the starting line-up, becoming one of the Reds’ stand-out performers and playing in his first World Cup.

Sterling has maintained that progress this season with his club, scoring twice in three matches, while also impressing in his last two matches for the national side. How­ever, Rodgers, who already has an issue with England over the injury which has ruled out striker Daniel Sturridge for up to three weeks, stressed the youngster should not be over-burdened with expectation.

“I think he needs protection. I have seen it over the years,” said Rodgers ahead of today’s clash with Aston Villa. “He is a wonderful tal­ent, he is doing great for Liverpool but there are still a lot of things he needs to learn and he knows that and is a mature boy for his age.

“He has grown into a wonder­ful young man and his consistency and performances are there and the period he has been in the team has been exceptional

“I expect him to keep progressing but in terms of where he is at I think we need to be careful.”

Elsewhere, Roberto Martinez has urged his side to sort out the defen­sive woes that have plagued their start to the season. The Toffees have scored an impressive seven times in three games but have also conceded 10. Martinez said: “We had 15 clean sheets last season.

 Maybe we got a bit relaxed knowing we were so good in that area and we got punished and that is something we need to put extra emphasis on.”

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Today
15:45 Arsenal v Man City
18:00 Chelsea v Swansea
18:00 Crystal Palace v Burnley
18:00 Southampton v Newcastle
18:00 Stoke v Leicester
18:00 Sunderland v Tottenham
18:00 West Brom v E verton
21:30 Liverpool v Aston Villa

Tomorrow
19:00 Man United v QPR

Monday
23:00 Hull v West Ham