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Brendan Rodgers coy on Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino inclusion

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is coy about Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino's prospects of starting the opening day of the new Premier League campaign.

Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he hasn't yet made a decision on whether or not Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho will be included for Liverpool against Stoke City on the opening day.

Both Brazil players were involved in the Copa America and are pencilled in to return to training on Wednesday, but Rodgers said that he plans to speak to the pair as their fitness is assessed by the club.

The Reds boss told the club's official website: "I always speak to players. We know physically where they'll be at, we know they were involved in a competition, had some rest.

"But I always like to speak to players just to get the feel. You can have all your analysis and you can have all your statistics but sometimes the most important line is the communication. So we'll see how they feel.

"They're going to come back in good condition, refreshed, and if they start season and - like I've done before - if I feel a player needs a rest during the season I will do that."

Liverpool have won both their pre-season games so far against Thai All Stars and Brisbane Roar.

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Hoffenheim's Brazilian midfielder Roberto Firmino celebrates during the German trophy football match Borussia Dortmund vs TSG Hoffenheim in the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, western Germany on April 7, 2015
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2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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