Liverpool have been held to a 0-0 draw by League Two side Plymouth Argyle in their FA Cup third-round tie at Anfield.

The Reds fielded their youngest-ever starting lineup for the goalless affair on Merseyside, before turning to some experienced heads in the final 15 minutes.

There was to be no breakthrough for Jurgen Klopp's men in the first meeting between the two teams in 55 years, however, giving the 9,000 travelling fans something to smile about on their trek back south.

Liverpool saw three-quarters of the ball in the first half and racked up a total of 12 attempts in all, but clear-cut openings proved to be few and far between for the dominant hosts.

Ovie Ejaria and Kevin Stewart were both wayward with their long-range efforts, while Seyi Ojo could only head right into the hands of Luke McCormick when an opening had finally been carved out.

The closest Liverpool came to making their dominance count in the opening 45 minutes arrived at the feet of Ben Woodburn midway through, though he was thwarted by McCormick at the front post after initially doing well to work some space for the shot.

Home fans thought the deadlock had been breached after Divock Origi tucked the ball home, only for the referee to disallow it for a challenge on Gary Miller in the build-up.

Plymouth did not muster a single attempt in the first half and incredibly only completed 21 passes in the opening 27 minutes of the match - and 53 in all - fewer than Reds midfielder Stewart on his own - focusing purely on getting bodies behind the ball to frustrate the inexperienced Liverpool side.

That tactic may have worked in the first half but, with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino on the bench, manager Klopp was not prepared to panic just yet.

It was proving to be a familiar story in the early stages of the second half, though - plenty of possession but little being done with it, while Argyle's players were slowly beginning to come out of their shells a little more.

Jordan Slew had the honour of claiming Plymouth's first shot of the match 52 minutes in, sending the ball closer to the corner flag than Loris Karius's goal, and Graham Carey came a little closer when blasting a free kick right down the throat of Karius.

For all their efforts, Liverpool only had a long-range Lucas Leiva shot and a glancing Ojo header to show for their efforts as the hour mark approached, at which point Klopp turned to Sturridge.

The Englishman almost made an instant impression with a shot inches wide of goal, yet his introduction was not having the desired effect and it was not much longer before Lallana and Firmino joined the fray.

Only Manchester United and West Ham United had prevented Liverpool from scoring on home soil over the past 12 months but, when Origi diverted the ball wide at the end of a Lallana cross, the visitors had belief that they could join that list.

Plymouth did indeed see things through to set up a replay at Home Park later this month, with the Reds' hopes of progressing into round four for a fifth year running proving to be less straightforward than many expected.