Follow every kick as Liverpool take on Sunderland in the Premier League
on 28-Mar-2010, kick off time 16:00
Liverpool v Sunderland Live
Liverpool will be pinning their hopes on striker Fernando Torres to shoot them to success against Sunderland in their Premier League clash at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. The Reds must keep within touching distance of Tottenham Hotspur if they are to keep their top-four challenge going after falling to a loss against fierce rivals Manchester United last weekend. It was Torres who opened the scoring with a fine header at Old Trafford, but goals from Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung turned the tables as the leaders cashed in on a 2-1 victory. Rafael Benitez's side are now four points adrift of Spurs and Harry Redknapp's men have a crucial game in hand over the under-performing Merseysiders. After going 14 games without a league victory, Sunderland have turned the tables with two wins and two draws in March. A thumping 4-0 success over Bolton Wanderers was followed by a 1-1 draw to Manchester City. Then a fine 3-1 triumph over Birmingham City and Wednesday's 1-1 stalemate at Aston Villa has helped push Steve Bruce's Black Cats up to 13th in the Premier League table. Liverpool have won just twice in six fixtures and their form has continued to dog them all season. Missing out on Champions League qualification would be a catastrophic blow to their hopes of keeping hold of leading stars such as Torres and Steven Gerrard, who are widely tipped to leave the club in the summer. Back in October, Darren Bent's infamous 'beachball' deflected effort was the difference between the sides at Stadium of Light. His tame effort was poised to be collected by goalkeeper Pepe Reina, but the stray inflatable, thrown on to the pitch by a Liverpool spectator, inadvertently guided the ball beyond the Spanish keeper. The painful loss was felt by all at Liverpool and they will be out to make amends this weekend. Benitez will still be without defensive duo Fabio Aurelio (thigh) and Martin Skrtel (ankle) who could make a return in April. Bruce may wait on the availability of central defender John Mensah after he limped out of the midweek clash against Aston Villa. He has a knee problem and striker Kenwyne Jones may sit out as he continues to struggle with a hip flexor problem. Winger Andy Reid (hamstring) is rated as a big doubt for the fixture.
Source: DSG
