Sports Mole looks at how Liverpool could line up for Thursday's Premier League clash with Sheffield United as they look to begin 2020 the same way they ended 2019.

Liverpool will be hoping that their momentum from an unforgettable 2019 carries on into 2020 when they host Sheffield United at Anfield on Thursday.

Jurgen Klopp's side enter the new decade with a 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League table having won 27 of their last 28 league games, including 18 of 19 so far this season.

The European and world champions are well on course to add a first English title in 30 years to their growing collection, but they will be wary of a Sheffield United side that pushed them all the way in the reverse fixture.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Liverpool could line up for the contest.

Out: Xherdan Shaqiri (hamstring), Joel Matip (knee), Dejan Lovren (thigh), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (ankle), Fabinho (ankle), Rhian Brewster (ankle), Nathaniel Clyne (knee)
Doubtful: None

> Click here for Liverpool's latest injury and suspension news ahead of this match

Liverpool's list of absentees has grown throughout December, with Xherdan Shaqiri the latest to join the injured crowd after straining his hamstring.

Klopp is hopeful of having everyone but Nathaniel Clyne back available by February, but for now the absences of Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip in particular limit their options at centre-back, where Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk remain their only senior starters.

Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also still sidelined, but there could be a change in midfield with Naby Keita pushing to return after sitting out from the start against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.

Klopp has so far resisted the urge to rotate too much since returning from the Club World Cup, which has been helped by their relatively kind Christmas schedule compared to many other teams in the division.

Playing three games in the space of a week is nothing new to Liverpool and so there are unlikely to be wholesale changes for this one either, particularly with Sunday's FA Cup clash at home to Merseyside rivals Everton providing a more natural opportunity to do so.

The front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane could all start once again, then, with the latter having been directly involved in more home goals than any other Premier League player over the course of 2019 - 21 from 19 games.

Liverpool's options have also been bolstered by new signing Takumi Minamino, with Klopp insisting that he is ready for first-team action straight away, although he is unlikely to be thrown immediately into the starting lineup just a couple of days after his arrival.