Good afternoon! Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will be speaking to reporters in around 15 minutes as his side prepares to take on Sunderland in the Premier League this weekend.

After three defeats in a row in the league, Liverpool have turned their fortunes around over the last week, beating Stoke City 1-0 last Saturday before coming from behind to beat Leicester City. Next up for the Reds is side that have not won in their last four.

Away from this fixture, there's been some big news surrounding the development of Liverpool's Anfield home reported today. You can ready all about it here.

Rodgers caused controversy last Saturday by leaving club captain Steven Gerrard on the bench, but he was back in the starting lineup in midweek, and got on the scoresheet. Rodgers is likely to be asked about the selection of the midfielder again today, but it would be expected that Gerrard will remain in the starting XI after Tuesday's performance.

While Saturday will probably come too soon for him, Liverpool fans will be pleased to see that Mamadou Sakho has been back in training this morning after several weeks out with a thigh strain:

PHOTO: @mamadousakho3 back in training with his teammates during today's session #LFC pic.twitter.com/Jl80WfNJuH — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 4, 2014

With the transfer window just around the corner, talk of players that could be coming and going at Anfield is in full swing. According to the latest rumours, Mario Balotelli could be on his way back to Italy to be reunited with Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan. Meanwhile, highly-rated Norwegian youngster Martin Odegaard has been linked with a move to Liverpool. You can keep track of all the latest Liverpool transfer talk here.

Don't forget, you'll be able to follow live coverage of this match with Sports Mole from an hour before kickoff. We'll also have team news, post-match reaction, player ratings and much more on Saturday afternoon.

While we wait for the manager, here's another shot from training, as a couple of the club's youngsters train with the senior side at Melwood:

PHOTO: Jerome Sinclair and Jordan Rossiter join in with the senior side at Melwood #LFC pic.twitter.com/WZ48WmLor9 — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 4, 2014

Well it looks like Rodgers is running a little behind schedule at the minute. It's likely the manager will be asked about the fitness as striker Mario Balotelli this afternoon, as the striker has not played since the Premier League returned from the international break last month.

Right then, the Northern Irishman is in place and ready to go, so let's see what he has to say...

Rodgers starts with an update on Balotelli's fitness. He says: "He is injured at the moment but he's still very much a Liverpool player. My concentration is on those fit and available. Coutinho had a slight issue with his knee, but should be ok for Saturday. Enrique has trained and should be ok."

There was speculation during the summer that Lucas Leiva could be heading for the exits at Anfield. With the transfer window nearing, Rodgers insists that he is keen to keep hold of the Brazilian: "We never had any offers for Lucas. He was always an important member of the squad. He in good form at the moment and long may it continue."

Liverpool fans have been keen to see Simon Mignolet improve his performances between the posts this season, but the Belgian conceded an own goal against Leicester earlier this week. The manager tells reporters: "Simon Mignolet is working very hard on the training field to improve."

Rodgers is asked about vice-captain Jordan Henderson's recent performances for the team. He replies: "Jordan Henderson is growing all the time, he has a very important role. It's vitally important all attacking players create and score."

On Liverpool's upturn in form heading into the busy festive fixture schedule, Rodgers admits: "It's a really exciting period. Players have shown the character I always said they had. They have responded magnificently."

That's all from Rodgers this afternoon, so join us again from 2pm on Saturday for our live build-up to this match. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.