Sunday, October 7
Kick-off: 3pm
Liverpool will be hoping to record their first Premier League win at Anfield this season when Stoke City make the trip to Merseyside on Sunday.
The Reds have drawn with Manchester City and lost their last three games in all competitions at home, to Arsenal, Manchester United and Udinese.
Brendan Rodgers new style of football is still taking time to adapt for the players, although there have been signs of better form in recent times especially on the road.
Needs time
Rodgers (pictured) needs time to get his positive approach across but the fans will still want better results than what has been achieved so far this term.
An inspired Luis Suarez performance saw them take their first Premier League win of the season last week. The striker scored a hat-trick at Carrow Road in a 5-2 away victory.
The win took them out of the bottom three but the reaches of the bottom half of the table will feel uncomfortable to the supporters.
In midweek, some careless possession play and drab defensive errors cost the club at home to Udinese in the Europa League. The 3-2 defeat leaves them with work to do in Group A.
Another player who will want to improve is goalkeeper Pepe Reina. The Spanish no.2 has been evidently short of form at the start of the season and has made some high-profile errors.
Joe Cole could return after recovering from a hamstring injury sustained on the opening day of the season.
However, Martin Kelly is out long-term with a serious knee problem. Jonjo Shelvey serves the final match of his suspension and Jose Enrique will miss out as he recovers from a knee injury.
Crouch and Adam set to face former team
Stoke City recorded their first victory of the season last weekend, when they overcame Swansea at the Britannia Stadium 2-0.
Despite scoring twice in this match, Peter Crouch has once again been overlooked by Roy Hodgson for England's upcoming World Cup qualifiers with San Marino and Poland.
Crouch will face his former team on Sunday, as could Charlie Adam after his summer switch to the Potters.
Ryan Shawcross will be looking to impress Hodgson with another commanding performance after receiving his first call-up to the international setup.
Tony Pulis has a full squad to choose from, apart from Andy Wilkinson who is suspended.
It is likely he will keep the same starting 11 from the Swansea win, meaning Michael Owen will probably have to settle for a place on the bench again.
Last season, the visitors took four points off Liverpool in the league, although the Reds did beat Pulis's side 2-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals in March.
A home banker for Liverpool never seems likely nowadays but three points will be important for Rodgers as his revolution continues.
Possible Line-ups:
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Wisdom, Allen, Sahin, Sterling, Borini, Gerrard, Suarez.
Stoke: Begovic, Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Adam, N'Zonzi, Whelan, Kightly, Crouch, Walters.
By Simon Wright
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