Liverpool vs. Stoke City: Match Preview, Team News, and Ways to Watch

All Liverpool minds are on the Europa League at the moment, since after their well-played 1-1 draw away to Dortmund on Thursday, the Reds have a fair chance of defeating the German heavy hitters to advance to the semi-finals of the competition. But though the league is a lost cause for Liverpool at this point, there's still eight more games to play. The next up sees Liverpool hosting Stoke City at Anfield.

Back in August when Liverpool started their season at the Britannia, they snuck a victory thanks to a moment of magic by Philippe Coutinho that came from almost nothing. A lot has a changed at the club since then, but games against Stoke are always difficult.

The bad news from midweek is that captain Jordan Henderson has been sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury. The slightly better news is that Lucas Leiva, who has been out since the end of February with a thigh muscle strain, may be available for selection on Sunday. With next Thursday's return fixture on his mind, it will be interesting to see what changes Klopp makes to the line up

Liverpool sit in ninth place on the table, two points below Stoke, so they have the opportunity to move above them with three points in this game. Liverpool need to keep pushing on in the league, because even if eight games is likely not enough time for the team to work their way into a Champion's League spot, it's still possible to end this season in a more respectable position.

As for Stoke, Ryan Shawcross, Geoff Cameron, Glenn Whelan, and Xherdan Shaqiri are all doubtful for Sunday, while Marko Arnautovic is out with an injury.

For Liverpool:

Mignolet
Flanagan, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno
Milner, Allen
Ibe, Firmino, Coutinho
Sturridge

If Lucas is able to start, he will likely slot into the midfield, probably at the expense of a rare start for Jordon Ibe—or Sheyi Ojo, who could also get the nod depending on the midfield options. Sturridge was rotated out on Thursday, which paid off for Klopp when Divock Origi scored Liverpool's goal against Dortmund, but he should regain his spot on Sunday. Emre Can faces a two game domestic ban and won't available. Christian Benteke is still injured, along with long-term absentees Danny Ings and Joe Gomez.

Kickoff is set for 3:00PM BST/11:00PM EST Sunday. Television coverage will be on Westwood One Sports for the US. Elsewhere, Fox Sports 3 in Australia, TSN2 in Canada, Star Sports 2 Asia in India, SuperSport 7 Africa in Kenya, Astro SuperSport 3 in Malaysia, and 103 (hd) mio Sports in Singapore are carrying the match. You can find other listings at LiveSoccerTV. Sorry UK viewers, it won't be showing there. Online streaming is also available with NBC Live Sports 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.