Stoke vs Liverpool Preview, Team News, Likely Line-ups & Predicted Score

Liverpool take on Stoke City  at the Britannia Stadium tonight looking to build on last weeks impressive win over Fulham.

The Reds bounced back from a shock 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa by seeing-off Martin Jol’s Fulham side 4-0 at the weekend to move eighth in the table – level on points with ninth-placed Stoke.

The home side are only behind Liverpool on goal difference after their 0-0 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday and Tony Pulis’ side will be looking to extend their eight-game unbeaten run in the league tonight.

The Potters boast the meanest defence in the league having only conceded 13 goals in 18 games so far and have kept nine cleans sheets already this campaign, so Brendan Rodgers will know he’s in for a tough game this evening.

Team News

Liverpool have no fresh injury problems ahead of the game. The Reds are likely to recall Raheem Sterling and Joe Allen for the game after the pair were rested against Fulham, with Suso and Jonjo Shelvey are the players likely to make way.

Stewart Downing is expected to retain his place after he capped an impressive display against the Cottagers with his first Premier League goal for the club. Fabio Borini remains on the sidelines as he continues to recover from a broken foot.

Charlie Adam is likely to miss out playing against his former side after being granted compassionate leave following the death of his dad last week. Defender Ryan Shotton played in midfield against Spurs and is expected to do so again as Tony Pulis is unlikely to make many changes from the side that started at the Lane.

Former Liverpool strikers Peter Crouch and Michael Owen are both unlikely to start, with Crouch set for a place on the bench once again while the best Owen can hope for is a substitute role after continuing his recovery from injury.

Likely Line-ups

Predicted Score

Stoke have a good home record against Liverpool and a formidable record at the Britannia in the league, with the Potters currently on a 15-match unbeaten run. However, the Reds have lost just one of their last seven away games and there has been just 11 goals in the last 9 league games between these two sides, so we can see another low-scoring, tight affair tonight. Stoke 1-1 Liverpool

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