Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that he has no new injury problems heading into this weekend's Premier League match against Sunderland.
Liverpool are eighth in the table ahead of the trip to the Stadium of Light, and fresh from victory over AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup.
The manager also discussed some of the players being linked with the club during the current transfer window.
Read what else Rodgers said below:
Good afternoon! Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will be speaking the media at the club's Melwood training ground shortly ahead of Saturday's match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. It will be the first time that the side have played in the Premier League since captain Steven Gerrard announced that he will be leaving at the end of the season.
The club's last outing in the league, on New Year's Day, saw them let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with Leicester City. That result followed wins over Swansea City and Burnley though.
The squad has been out training for the match this morning. Here's a shot of Mamadou Sakho and Mario Balotelli seemingly enjoying themselves:
PHOTO: @mamadousakho3 and @FinallyMario at Melwood today #LFC pic.twitter.com/Suy2JfKktH
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 8, 2015
As well as being asked about this weekend's match, Rodgers is likely to face questions about the transfer market. There's been plenty of speculation about players coming and going at Anfield in the coming weeks, with Balotelli and Lucas Leiva among those touted the leave, while James Milner and Nemanja Vidic are among the latest names to be linked with a move to Liverpool.
The match will be the first of six in 21 days for Liverpool, who travel to Aston Villa seven days later, before a two-legged League Cup semi-final against Chelsea, with an FA Cup against Bolton sandwiched in between, and the visit of West Ham to complete a rather hectic January. Rodgers will certainly need a healthy squad to get through that fixture list.
Just to remind you, we'll be starting our live coverage of this an hour before kickoff, and will also have a match report, team news, post-match analysis and reaction.
Right then, the manager is ready to go, so let's see what Rodgers is asked about this week...
The first topic of discussion is Steven Gerrard's impending departure. The manager say: "Nothing more to add. Everything has been said on that situation that needs to be said. No doubt Steve is a world class talent, but the club has to keep moving forward. There's an opportunity for others to grab that mantra."
Sticking with contract talks, Rodgers is asked about Raheem Sterling's contract situation: "There's no update on Raheem's contract, that's something between the club and his representatives."
On reports that the club are interested in signing James Milner as a replacement for Gerrard, Rodgers say: "James is a wonderful player. Players get linked constantly with coming here, I would never speak about another player until they signed."
Daniel Sturridge has been away in American having rehab for his ongoing injury problems. The manager reveals: "He'll be back in the country in the next 24 hours, he's into the final stages of his rehab. We're looking forward to having him back, we're hoping that some points in January he'll be back in the squad."
Sticking with Sturridge, Rodgers adds: "Daniel is a top-class player. He was wonder qualities and will make any team better. I'm hoping he can stay fit and make a charge for us."
On the subject of injuries, Rodgers says that there is no new news on squad availability, so he should have the same players to choose from that have been involved in the last couple of matches.
That's all from Rodgers for now. As with his FA Cup press conference, the questions were much more about players coming and going than the match itself, but it sounds like Rodgers is confident heading into this weekend. So that's all for now, but join us again Saturday lunchtime to find out if the Reds can beat Sunderland. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.
Written by
Sian Cowper
Sian Cowper
