Butland wants to resume Suarez battle

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is relishing the opportunity to shut out Liverpool striker Luis Suarez for the second time in his career.

The 20-year-old went head to head with Suarez when he featured for the Great Britain team at the 2012 London Olympics and kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Uruguay.

Butland is expected to make his first Premier League start for Stoke when Liverpool visit the Britannia Stadium on Sunday, with Asmir Begovic and Thomas Sorensen both likely to miss out through injury.

And the former Birmingham City man is excited by the prospect of resuming the battle against the Premier League’s top goalscorer.

“I’m excited as I’ve faced him before and beaten him,” Butland told the club’s official website.

“That was when I was playing for Team GB in the Olympics and we beat Uruguay.

“We beat them 1-0, so I’d love to be able to face Liverpool and be able to put in a good shift and beat them too.

“It was fantastic to make my full debut in the FA Cup at the weekend, and having already sampled the Premier League against Everton (as a substitute) on New Year’s Day, I would love to feature in the game on Sunday too.”