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Are we having fun yet? Liverpool are playing yet another extra game, this time against West Ham in a replay of the fourth round of the FA Cup. A round of 16 match up away to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday February 21st awaits the winners of this game.
The big news is that it seems manager Jürgen Klopp will be taking the reins once again on Tuesday after missing Liverpool's match at the weekend due to a slight case of appendicitis. Thankfully the surgery appears to have gone off without a hitch, and now Klopp has resumed his duties at Melwood. Chief among them will be monitoring the fitness of Liverpool's injured attacking trio of Philippe Coutinho, Divock Origi, and Daniel Sturridge. Sturridge was deemed ready for the bench against Sunderland, though the star striker didn't feature in that game.
The most exciting part of Tuesday's game will be which, if any, of these players might make a return to the pitch. They've all been missed, and at a time when Liverpool are having trouble finding the back of the net, their absences have left gaping holes in the squad.
As for West Ham, they won't relish the extra game either, but getting a chance to play with the home advantage should please them. They've already done the double over Liverpool in the league, so they will likely be quietly confident going into this match. They'll be without the services of James Tomkins, Cheikhou Kouyate, Carl Jenkinson, Manuel Lanzini, and Diafra Sakho for the clash, but will have former Red Andy Carroll at their disposal. Expect to see him at least make any appearance on Tuesday.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup:
Ward
Randall / Caulker / Toure / Moreno
Lucas/ Stewart/ Brannagan
Ibe / Origi/ Teixeira
Mignolet got the start over Danny Ward in the first game, but it's possible we'll see Ward given a chance between the sticks for the this one. Because, at this point, why not? Ward was recalled for a reason, and with Mignolet playing as terribly as he has been, letting someone else have a chance doesn't sound like the worst idea. Steven Caulker will resume his role in defense alongside Kolo Toure, who probably never thought he'd be seeing this much action. Allen came off injured against Sunderland, so expect Lucas to slide back into the starting line up for this game.
Divock Origi is thrown in there at a guess, mostly out of a vague hope that one of those three returning players is ready to start. With the league cup final against Manchester City looming and a return to the Europa League, they'll want to conserve Sturridge's energy, so if he plays at all it will likely be off the bench. The same is likely true for Roberto Firmino, who has become first choice in Sturridge's absence and was Liverpool's standout performer over the weekend.
Nither of Dejan Lovren or Joe Allen is expected to play in this game, though the extent of their injuries is not yet known. Similarly, Martin Skrtel and Jordan Rossiter remain some weeks away from fitness, and Danny Ings and Joe Gomez are still out for the season.
Kickoff is set for 8:45PM GMT/2:45PM EST Tuesday, with television coverage on BT Sport 2 in the UK and Fox Sports 1 USA in the US. Elsewhere, ESPN Australia in Australia, Sportsnet World in Canada, and Astro SuperSport 3 in Malaysia are carrying the match. You can find other listings at LiveSoccerTV. Online streaming is also available with Fox Soccer 2GO USA in the US and BT Sport Live Streaming in the UK. For online radio, fans worldwide can check out LFCTV GO and BBC Radio 5 Live.
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.