Brouwer had the game's first chance, when he brought the ball down on the edge of the box, only to see his shot safely deflected into the goalkeeper's arms.
It was 1-0 Preston minutes later however, when David Martin was beaten by a free kick following a foul by Huth. Liverpool pressed for the equaliser and Brouwer twice came close to levelling the scores.
It was all square after 38 minutes when Besian Idrizaj levelled from inside the box. Unfortunately Preston regained the lead four minutes later when ex-Red Neil Mellor lobbed Martin from 25 yards out.
There was a further blow before half time when an inswinging cross evaded everyone and ended up in the back of the net to put Preston 3-1 up.
Liverpool played well in the second half and carved out chances for Insua and Nabil El Zhar but were unable to pull a goal back.