A busy period to finish 2014 means plenty of Liverpool action to follow, but it also means that Liverpool's loanees will see plenty of opportunities to take part for their temporary sides. A few will see their campaigns interrupted by winter breaks, but for the most part we should see plenty of minutes as we enter 2014.
Andre Wisdom started again for West Brom in their 1-0 loss against Arsenal at the Hawthorns. It was an up-and-down day for the young fullback, who spent time on the left after Cristian Gamboa came on in the second half. Wisdom was culpable in the build-up for Danny Welbeck's winner, as Santi Cazorla burned him down West Brom's right before delivering the cross Welbeck powered past Ben Foster. At the Stadium of Light there was a spot on the bench for Sebastian Coates, who's been fit now for the last few weeks. The Uruguayan didn't see any minutes but will hopefully get time on the pitch during a busy month of December. Oussama Assaidi was ruled out of action in Stoke City's 1-0 loss at Liverpool due to the loan agreement.
Down in the Championship, Joao Teixeira was left out of the squad as Brighton continued their struggles against Fulham. With seven loanees at the club, Sami Hyypia could only name five in the squad, and that meant Teixeira was left out. Last weekend he didn't see any action off the bench. Different fortune for Jordon Ibe, who started and played over an hour in Derby County's 2-0 loss at Leeds. Ibe has been in terrific form for Steve McLaren's side but didn't have any influence here, as the visitors finally stumbled in their bid to close out November with four straight wins.
Out on the continent there was a matchup between Tiago Ilori's Bordeaux and Divock Origi's Lille, with the home side winning 1-0 via a Cheick Diabate goal in the second half. Ilori made the bench for the first time since his injury in early October, while Origi was subbed off in the 81st minute. Lille's struggles to score with any sort of consistency continue, as they close out a stretch that saw them score only four goals across ten matches in all competitions between October and November. In Spain Iago Aspas came on for half an hour of Sevilla's 5-1 thumping of Granada, while Luis Alberto was left on the bench in Malaga's 2-1 home loss to Real Madrid. Rafa Paez was on the bench for Bologna in their 2-1 win over Bari.
In other news, hopes for another Brad Smith loan to Swindon appear to have dried up, as there's no news on the Liverpool end of things and the League One side have "moved on" by extending Harry Toffolo's loan from Norwich City.