Rodgers said ahead of the contest at Anfield: “It is about risk-taking”. I think it’s a bit unfair at times. That’s something the players have been really working hard at, and it only takes one performance to spin the season around again.
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The skipper has missed the last four games due to a heel injury, which required injections during a medical trip to the United States this week.
The news will be welcomed by Rodgers, who indicated Sakho was in contention to start in Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Norwich.
Henderson suffered a broken foot in Friday’s training session at Melwood, with minor surgery expected to be done on Monday.
A clean sheet would do Liverpool the world of good right now and Rodgers has some decisions to make as to who he is willing to put his faith in at the back for the big matches to come. He is clearly at his best facing goal, and in one of these No. 10 positions, he could be supremely effective, latching on to Benteke’s knock-ons and benefiting from his strength in holdup play.
Daniel Sturridge? Straight off the subs’ bench with 25 minutes to go, whether winning or losing. Kolo Toure, injured in France, is likely to miss out. Changes which were welcomed by many Liverpool fans.
The news of Henderson’s injury is a huge blow for Liverpool’s chances with the captain missing since the second game of the season.
According to Rodgers, being more direct and purposeful with the ball is something they have been “looking at” with the team, referring to the fact that they have only scored 17 goals in their last 19 games – something he admitted highlights a lack of creativity.
Liverpool will provide a stiffer examination of the Canaries’ survival credentials and Neil insists his players will not be backing off against the Reds.
“We can’t be gung-ho or silly about how we approach the match, but we’ll approach it in the fashion that we’ll go to win the match, and we’ll see what we can do”. A win at Anfield would be massive for the visitors and they know Anfield is not the fortress it used to be. “The players that we had available and fit were doing the best that they could and we were maximising everything we could out of them“. You can’t let the man spend all that money and bring all those players in and then five, six or seven games in he has to move on.
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“For him it’s about getting back playing, and getting the goals”.
