Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren set for return against Stoke

Will it be the side that looked so capable defensively at The Britannia Stadium in the first leg of this tie, or that which conceded four at Norwich at the weekend?

Liverpool’s last trophy won was the League Cup, delivered by Kenny Dalglish in 2012. Tomorrow’s semi-final second leg presents an opportunity to secure a place in the final, and fortunately for Merseyside’s finest, a lot of good work was undertaken in the first leg that will ensure gaps will be left by the away side for Jürgen Klopp’s side to potentially exploit.

“What I will say is that sometimes we start differently in games”.

“‘Come on, do what you want, but if you lose today, we’re flying flags (at half mast)”. It doesn’t help to think about these things.

“I’m really looking forward to it, I’m really excited, so let’s take the whole power of LFC and go to the final”.

“It hurt. Not just because of the fact we lost, but because of the way we were beaten”.

With the Reds facing West Ham United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday [30 January], Clyne may not be risked for the game – with the Europa League also due to return in February. The team has only advanced once in the last eight attempts, though they do have a strong record against Stoke in the tournament, with one draw and five wins.

Holding such an advantage over Stoke and with Wembley beckoning, Klopp has a chance of turning this season into a successful one by capturing silverware in his first campaign.

“I think my momentum just took me that way and he (Klopp) was halfway on the pitch, it was a great moment, one moment that I’m sure will stay with the lads and myself for sure but we need to recover well, we’ve got a massive game Tuesday”.

Liverpool’s chance of making it to the final rests on whether they show up at Anfield.

“Until now when I’ve met an Evertonian nobody has knocked me, nobody has kicked me, nothing has happened. We did it. Of course, it’s not the best way to win a game but maybe it was what we needed”, he told his club’s website. That is cool, that is how it should be.

“Going to Wembley is the best thing you can do in football”. We only want to defend really near to perfection – that’s what we have to do because Stoke are a football-playing team.

“After Man United, everyone asked why we didn’t play with a striker”.

“We played not always good”.

“You don’t have to do that any more but they’re a top team now”. Consistency is only possible when you have a settled line up. It’s not too late to learn. The visitors are blessed with a talented strikeforce but they come into the fixture on the back of two goalless games. It’s obvious. We are always working on our weaknesses.