Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho will return to the side to face Manchester City on Sunday having been rested for their Europa League exit against Besiktas.
Midfielder Jordan Henderson was also left at home with an ankle problem and that will need to be assessed at the weekend.
Defender Mamadou Sakho has resumed training this week after a hip injury while full-back Glen Johnson could be back after illness meant he missed the trip to Istanbul.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Ibe, Henderson, Allen, Markovic, Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge, Ward, Lovren, Johnson, Toure, Moreno, Lallana, Lambert, Borini, Balotelli.
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Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho will return to the side to face Manchester City on Sunday having been rested for their Europa League exit against Besiktas.
Midfielder Jordan Henderson was also left at home with an ankle problem and that will need to be assessed at the weekend.
Defender Mamadou Sakho has resumed training this week after a hip injury while full-back Glen Johnson could be back after illness meant he missed the trip to Istanbul.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Ibe, Henderson, Allen, Markovic, Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge, Ward, Lovren, Johnson, Toure, Moreno, Lallana, Lambert, Borini, Balotelli.
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Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet insists their Europa League exit now focuses players’ minds on what is required in the remainder of the season.
The Reds lost a penalty shootout 5-4 against Besiktas in Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium – venue of their famous Champions League victory on spot-kicks against AC Milan in 2005 – after conceding a 72nd-minute goal to substitute Tolgay Arslan which made it 1-1 on aggregate.
Defeat ends one route of qualifying for next year’s Champions League, but without the distraction of playing Thursday-Sunday Mignolet said the focus now had to be on securing a top-four slot.
“When you go out after everything you have put into the game it is disappointing,” he said.
“We have always said we want to get into the Champions League for next year – and we are still in the FA Cup – so there are a lot of things to be played for this season.
“Going out of the Europa League is difficult but we now know what we have to do for the rest of the season.”
Liverpool are only three points behind third-placed Arsenal but face title-chasing Manchester City at home on Sunday.
The Belgium goalkeeper believes they cannot now afford to allow their European disappointment to affect their domestic performances, especially after travel commitments and an unhelpful scheduling of this weekend’s fixture means they will have less than 55 hours before they head out again.
“We are football players and we just have to focus on the job in hand and we will do that.
“We have to go again because Sunday is a big game again and we have to try to prepare ourselves the best we can.
“You have to focus on your own things rather than what other teams are doing and we have to prepare ourselves the best way we can.
“But at this moment in time everyone is disappointed we went out.”
Defender Dejan Lovren was the only person to miss in the shoot-out as he sent Liverpool’s fifth penalty sailing wide of the target.
The £20million summer signing from Southampton has endured a tough start to his Anfield career but Mignolet stressed the blame for not progressing had to be shared among the squad.
“I don’t want to single anyone out. When you win, you lose, you get a clean sheet as a unit, you are always together,” he said. “I think 1-0 at home was a good result, then you hope to score a goal (away) which didn’t happen.
“We defended really well up until the last 20 minutes and then penalties is always a lottery but we didn’t deserve that.”
Captain on the night Martin Skrtel echoed those sentiments. “We have been defending well and we tried to go for the counter-attack goal but we couldn’t get it,” said the Slovakia international.
“The penalties are a big lottery. It could happen to anyone in the team but he (Lovren) was the one who didn’t score, but you cannot blame him for that and we need to look ahead.
“Obviously it was disappointing to spend 120 minutes playing and then go out but we have to forget about this quickly as we have a big game in two days time.”
.
Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet insists their Europa League exit now focuses players’ minds on what is required in the remainder of the season.
The Reds lost a penalty shootout 5-4 against Besiktas in Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium – venue of their famous Champions League victory on spot-kicks against AC Milan in 2005 – after conceding a 72nd-minute goal to substitute Tolgay Arslan which made it 1-1 on aggregate.
Defeat ends one route of qualifying for next year’s Champions League, but without the distraction of playing Thursday-Sunday Mignolet said the focus now had to be on securing a top-four slot.
“When you go out after everything you have put into the game it is disappointing,” he said.
“We have always said we want to get into the Champions League for next year – and we are still in the FA Cup – so there are a lot of things to be played for this season.
“Going out of the Europa League is difficult but we now know what we have to do for the rest of the season.”
Liverpool are only three points behind third-placed Arsenal but face title-chasing Manchester City at home on Sunday.
The Belgium goalkeeper believes they cannot now afford to allow their European disappointment to affect their domestic performances, especially after travel commitments and an unhelpful scheduling of this weekend’s fixture means they will have less than 55 hours before they head out again.
“We are football players and we just have to focus on the job in hand and we will do that.
“We have to go again because Sunday is a big game again and we have to try to prepare ourselves the best we can.
“You have to focus on your own things rather than what other teams are doing and we have to prepare ourselves the best way we can.
“But at this moment in time everyone is disappointed we went out.”
Defender Dejan Lovren was the only person to miss in the shoot-out as he sent Liverpool’s fifth penalty sailing wide of the target.
The £20million summer signing from Southampton has endured a tough start to his Anfield career but Mignolet stressed the blame for not progressing had to be shared among the squad.
“I don’t want to single anyone out. When you win, you lose, you get a clean sheet as a unit, you are always together,” he said. “I think 1-0 at home was a good result, then you hope to score a goal (away) which didn’t happen.
“We defended really well up until the last 20 minutes and then penalties is always a lottery but we didn’t deserve that.”
Captain on the night Martin Skrtel echoed those sentiments. “We have been defending well and we tried to go for the counter-attack goal but we couldn’t get it,” said the Slovakia international.
“The penalties are a big lottery. It could happen to anyone in the team but he (Lovren) was the one who didn’t score, but you cannot blame him for that and we need to look ahead.
“Obviously it was disappointing to spend 120 minutes playing and then go out but we have to forget about this quickly as we have a big game in two days time.”
.
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Liverpool are expected to be cleared of any financial fair play breaches on Friday.
![LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, January 31, 2015: A corner flag flutters in the wind at Anfield ahead of the Liverpool versus West Ham United Premier League match. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda) [general view]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tZBlMyc4QJGX8Tn93F7tWNc0cUhl9fo1_lIflJZHaJyeH39W3tVq1NJi8c-KiRjDoWMosn6kHu0Q=s0-d)
The Reds have been one of several clubs absent from European competition last season who have been under investigation by the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
The CFCB will meet on Friday and is expected to announce that investigations into Liverpool have ended without any sanctions to be brought against the Merseyside club.
It is understood that Hull, who played in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, have agreed to settle for a small fine for FFP breaches. Last year Levski Sofia and three Turkish clubs each received a 200,000 euro fine and Hull’s sanction is thought to be of a similar level.
The CFCB is also expected to announce that investigations into Monaco, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Roma are to continue.
Liverpool made a loss of £49.8million for the 2012-13 season, and £40.5m for the 10-month period before that but have been able to write off a big chunk of losses as allowable stadium expenditure – the 2011-12 accounts reported that £49.6m was associated with Liverpool’s stadium costs, £35m coming from former co-owner Tom Hick’s aborted plan to build a new stadium on StanleyPark which new owners Fenway Sports Group had to scrap.
Manchester City and Paris St Germain were the clubs hit hardest by UEFA last season for breaching FFP rules – they were each fined £49m and handed restrictions on transfer spending and a reduction in Champions League squad size. UEFA is continuing to monitor the two clubs this season and auditors are due to visit City next week.
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Liverpool are expected to be cleared of any financial fair play breaches on Friday.
The Reds have been one of several clubs absent from European competition last season who have been under investigation by the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
The CFCB will meet on Friday and is expected to announce that investigations into Liverpool have ended without any sanctions to be brought against the Merseyside club.
It is understood that Hull, who played in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, have agreed to settle for a small fine for FFP breaches. Last year Levski Sofia and three Turkish clubs each received a 200,000 euro fine and Hull’s sanction is thought to be of a similar level.
The CFCB is also expected to announce that investigations into Monaco, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Roma are to continue.
Liverpool made a loss of £49.8million for the 2012-13 season, and £40.5m for the 10-month period before that but have been able to write off a big chunk of losses as allowable stadium expenditure – the 2011-12 accounts reported that £49.6m was associated with Liverpool’s stadium costs, £35m coming from former co-owner Tom Hick’s aborted plan to build a new stadium on StanleyPark which new owners Fenway Sports Group had to scrap.
Manchester City and Paris St Germain were the clubs hit hardest by UEFA last season for breaching FFP rules – they were each fined £49m and handed restrictions on transfer spending and a reduction in Champions League squad size. UEFA is continuing to monitor the two clubs this season and auditors are due to visit City next week.
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