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While the rest of the squad will be focused solely on rebounding from three straight poor results when Liverpool visit Sunderland, Sunday's trip to the Stadium of Light will hold special meaning for Simon Mignolet, who will be returning to the place he called home for the past three seasons.
"It’s the first time I’ve been back and I’m really looking forward to going back to the Stadium," he told the Liverpool Echo. "There are a lot of people who I still know from my time there so I am looking forward to seeing them again and have a catch up. But the main thing is about getting the result we want and we have to make sure we get the three points.
"I keep in touch with some of the players, but also the staff and the people around there. I was there three years so I know a lot of people and I never like to see them struggling. They were unlucky at the start of the season so hopefully they can turn it around—but only after Sunday."
Sunderland currently sit dead last in the league, with only a single point to show for their five matches so far and losses to West Brom, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, and Fulham along the way. Their draw and only point came against Southampton, and the dismissal of Paolo Di Canio, though likely unavoidable, would only seem to add to the mess.
Liverpool, though, having gone through their own struggles since the last international break, may have Sunderland fans eyeing them up as offering the potential for a corner-turning result just as much as Liverpool fans will be looking at Sunderland and their poor start as an opportunity to get back in the win column.