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Liverpool had a resounding win midweek over Exeter City, notching three goals and keeping a clean sheet that saw them advance to the next round of the FA Cup to face West Ham United. The kids were indeed all right, with Joao Carlos Teixeira and Sheyi Ojo both notching a goal apiece, but the side that faced Exeter is likely to be considerably different when Liverpool make their way down to Norwich to face the Canaries on Saturday.
Norwich City will always have a special place in Liverpool fans' hearts due to fond memories of a rampant Luis Suarez playing out of his mind against them on so many previous occasions. But Suarez is long gone -- John Ruddy breathes a sigh of relief -- and a Liverpool side that has struggled to find the back of the neck all too often this season can't rely on the memories of past routs to see them through to a much needed win in the league.
Norwich, for their part, are (on paper at least) in a position to help Liverpool take all three points on Saturday. Currently languishing in 16th place and only two points clear of the relegation zone, the Canaries have lost every single match they've played in so far in 2016. Two back-to-back road losses in the league against Stoke City and Bournemouth were preceded by an FA Cup loss at home to title contenders Manchester City, so it's been a miserable time for Norwich fans. They'll want to scrape at least a point off of Liverpool, and Liverpool's history of failing against lower table opposition might be just the ticket Norwich needs to break their pointless streak so far this year.
Unlike Liverpool, Norwich are currently injury free and have their full complement of players available to them for the match. Must be nice.
For Liverpool:
Mignolet
Clyne / Toure / Sakho / Moreno
Henderson / Can
Ibe / Firmino / Milner
Benteke
New lad Steven Caulker will be available after featuring with the U21 team on Tuesday, though whether he'll be an option from the bench at defense or centre forward is anyone's guess. Tiago Ilori acquitted himself well against Exeter, but for a league match Klopp will likely choose his two most experienced centre backs.
Though he's scored in each of his two previous matches and is apparently both the hero Liveprool need and the hero Liverpool want, Joe Allen doesn't seem to be getting the starting minutes in the league that he deserves of late. Lucas Leiva has similarly made impactful appearances from the bench, and Jürgen Klopp may keep him reserve for such a moment again.
Teixeira and Ojo both made a positive impact against Exeter and made a case for at least one of them to be included on the bench versus Norwich, with Teixeira the more likely to both make the team sheet and see some minutes if Liverpool's attack tires later in the game. Roberto Firmino is a no brainer at this point, and though Christian Benteke has featured more positively from the bench than he has as a starter, Liverpool's lack of non-youth options dictates his inclusion.
Dejan Lovren was slated to return from injury at some point after the Manchester United match, but that point doesn't yet seem to have arrived. Daniel Sturridge is a figment of your imagination, and Divock Origi, Martin Skrtel, and Philippe Coutinho still have several weeks left in the physio room. Danny Ings and Joe Gomez remain out for the rest of the season.
Kickoff is set for 12:45PM GMT/7:45AM EST Saturday. Television coverage will be on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultra HD in the UK and NBCSN for the US. Elsewhere, Fox Foxtel Play, Fox Sports Play, Fox Sports 4 Australia, and FOX Sports EPL On Demand in Australia, TSN1,TSN4, and TSN5 in Canada, Star Sports HD 4 and Star Sports 4 Asia in India, SuperSport 3 Africa in Kenya, Astro Supersport in Malaysia, and 102 (hd) mio Stadium in Singapore are carrying the match. You can find other listings at LiveSoccerTV. Online streaming is also available with NBC Sports Live Extra in the US. For online radio, fans worldwide can check out LFCTV GO and TalkSport Radio World.
We'll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it's released, our live matchday thread and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on all the action as it happens.