Stoke City v Liverpool, Capital One Cup semi-final first leg |
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| Venue: Britannia Stadium Date: Tuesday, 5 January Kick-off: 20:00 GMT |
| Coverage: Live commentary on Radio 5 live and text commentary on the BSports website |
Lineup, Bookings (0) & Substitutions (0)
Match Stats
Daniel Sturridge will miss Liverpool's League Cup semi-final first leg at Stoke on Tuesday after suffering a minor setback in training as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
The striker, 26, has been blighted by injuries, making only 19 appearances last season and six this campaign.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has only one fit striker, Christian Benteke, with Divock Origi and Danny Ings also injured.
Stoke's Geoff Cameron is available despite being sent off on Saturday.
The USA defender's red card in the 2-1 defeat by West Brom was overturned on appeal, meaning his three-match ban was withdrawn.
'Daniel had some problems'
Sturridge injury not serious - Klopp
Sturridge has not played since straining a hamstring against Newcastle on 6 December.
After his side's 1-0 win over Leicester on Boxing Day, he tweeted: "I'm back training and good to go!!"
But Klopp, speaking on Monday, said Sturridge "had some problems" which forced him to miss a training session.
He added: "What Daniel has to do at this moment is hard work to be prepared for the things we make in a football game. He had the last complete pre-season a long time ago.
"In pre-season we load our bodies with strength, energy, all we need for the games and then the problems start.
"It would be easy for me to say 'Come on, let's try, we have problems, we don't score enough goals, let's see what will happen' but we have to wait and be patient."
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is likely to miss Tuesday's match with the recurrence of a foot problem and fellow midfielder James Milner is still struggling with a calf injury.
Sturridge had had several setbacks in the past year
'Hopefully it is the first of many'
Tuesday's game will be Stoke's first League Cup semi-final appearance since 1971-72.
They go into the match on the back of a 2-1 Premier League defeat by West Brom but have won five of their past six home games.
Manager Mark Hughes said: "We are very strong at the moment at home and playing exceptionally well there.
"We are giving good teams like Liverpool real problems. Teams have to be at their best to withstand us at home.
"It is a game of significance for us, and these are the games we want to be involved in. Hopefully it is the first of many."
