Page 7 - Liverpool

By Karl Matchett.
Liverpool picked up an impressive and important first leg victory in the Capital One Cup at Stoke City on Tuesday night, winning 1-0 thanks to Jordon Ibe's first-half goal-but the success came at a cost, with three players suffering hamstring injuries on the night.

Philippe Coutinho went off injured in the first half and Dejan Lovren followed him shortly afterward, leaving Lucas Leiva having to fill in alongside Kolo Toure at centre-back-and Toure himself hobbled toward full time after suffering severe cramp in his hamstring. With Martin Skrtel sidelined with the same issue, Mamadou Sakho also sidelined and Joe Gomez out for the season, the Reds are down to just one mostly-fit veteran centre-back as they head into a run of five games in 18 days.

With that in mind, manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he may need to look for defensive reinforcements in the January transfer window-so here are three routes for him to consider.

Total Recall

Liverpool may not have to spend

By Greg Lea.

If Liverpool supporters were told at the start of the season that they would defeat Leicester City 1-0 at Anfield on Boxing Day, the most common response would probably have been: "only one?"

It is a sign of the times, though, that the Reds' narrow triumph on Saturday was seen as an impressive result; Leicester, after all, are not the relegation fodder that many expected but the unlikeliest of Premier League title contenders.

A top-four finish remains the aim for Jurgen Klopp's outfit this term. Victory at Sunderland on Wednesday night will move Liverpool to within five points of the Champions League places, a gap that would keep them within touching distance of fourth heading into the New Year. The Merseysiders have been consistently inconsistent in 2015/16 although they are far from alone in this most open of Premier League campaigns but still have an excellent chance of returning to Europe's primary continental club competition next season.

Shop For Liverpool Jerseys

The

Boxing Day brought several surprises and upsets in the English Premier League, with many of the division's top-ranked teams succumbing to losses. Key among those football clubs were Leicester City and Arsenal, who kept their spots at first and second place on the EPL table, but sacrificed some of their lead margin in defeats against Liverpool and Southampton, respectively. Manchester United also lost, intensifying the conversations that Louis van Gaal's days as the club's manager could be numbered.

Shop for EPL Football Kit

A Rough Week

It would be easy to single out Arsenal as the English club that had the worst Boxing Day. Falling 0-4 to Southampton, the Gunners suffered not only the worst loss of the week but also their worst loss of the entire season. Playing an away match, Arsenal saw their struggles with injuries come to a head in the second half. By the mid-game break, the Gunners were only trailing 0-1 and were holding their own in terms of possession.

However, the writing was on

Based on the rumours that have been swirling around in the English press for the past few weeks, Liverpool FC and new manager Jurgen Klopp are gearing up for an active January transfer window. Klopp has injected a lot of new energy into the proceedings at Anfield since taking over for Brendan Rodgers at the beginning of October. The Reds, however, continue to be a disappointingly inconsistent soccer team, showing their weaknesses in games including a recent loss to Newcastle United and a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion. Klopp will seek to rectify the issue by bringing in some fresh faces.

Buy Official LFC Kit

Are Transfers the Answer?

Liverpool's lineup is already made up of a lot of new faces this season, following the summer departures of key players like Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, and Rickie Lambert. Indeed, most of the football club's top goalscorers this season weren't around during the 2014 2015 campaign. Christian Benteke, James Milner, and Danny Ings all transferred in

With the group stages concluded for both the 2015/16 Europa League and Champions League tournaments, UEFA announced the round of 32 draw for the UEL on Monday, December 14^th. In addition to top group stage contenders from earlier in the Europa League (like Napoli, Rapid Wien, and Tottenham Hotspur), the round of 32 will also include the third-placers from the Champions League (including football clubs like Manchester United, Olympiacos, and Bayer Leverkusen).

The combinatory nature of the Europa League knockout stage always serves to inject some extra excitement into the proceedings. However, it also serves to make the round of 32 especially harder to predict. With that in mind, we are taking a look at the draw for the round of 32 and trying to decipher which teams will progress and which teams won't.

Buy Europa League Jerseys

The Champions League Teams

Eight of the 32 teams drawn into the next round of the Europa League come from the Champions League. These teams are the wildcard draws.

Not too long ago, it seemed Liverpool would be lucky to land in the upper half of the 2015 2016 Premier League table. Though they were strong title contenders in the 2013 2014 season, the Reds have been hit hard by the transfer market in the summers since. First, Luis Suarez departed, quickly becoming a star at FC Barcelona. Then, this past summer, Liverpool lost both their all-time greatest player (Steven Gerrard) and their most promising young gun (Raheem Sterling)-a conundrum that left manager Brendan Rodgers seemingly unable to field a decent soccer squad.

Now, it appears things have turned around at Anfield. Rodgers was sacked in early October after a draw with Everton left the Reds in danger of falling out of the Premier League top 10. Team bosses lured former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp out of retirement to replace him, and under Klopp's leadership, the football club have strengthened their position considerably. This past weekend, following a second consecutive victory,

When Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester City all exited the 2015 2016 Capital One Cup in the fourth round of the tournament, you had to wonder whether or not this year might see a complete underdog win the League Cup. However, the remaining frontrunners had a week of smooth sailing in the quarterfinals, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, and Stoke City-all Premier League clubs-securing slots in the semifinals of the 2015 Capital One Cup.

Order Official English League Shirts

Southampton vs. Liverpool

The biggest victory of the round, rather surprisingly, belonged to Liverpool-perhaps providing more proof that Jurgen Klopp's revitalized squad could be domestic league contenders this season. The Reds were playing an away match and were drawn in the only quarterfinal game that included two top-flight teams. Nevertheless, Liverpool left Southampton in the dust during the Wednesday evening match, ultimately walking off the football pitch with a 6-1 advantage.

The game was certainly a thrilling

An eventful weekend in the English Premier League 2015 - 2016 week 14 saw Leicester City's Jamie Vardy shattering a 12-year-old record and Manchester City reclaiming the peak position on the standings table, among other things.

Order Official EPL Shirts

11 Games in a Row

Vardy was deservedly the story of the week, much like he has been the top story in English football for the majority of the season. In the midst of a 1-1 draw between Leicester City and Manchester United, the 28-year-old striker scored his team's lone goal. It was the 11^th league match in a row that saw Vardy finding the back of the net, an accomplishment that no other player in Premier League history has ever managed.

During the 2003 2004 EPL season, Manchester United player Ruud van Nistelrooy set a record by scoring in 10 consecutive games. Vardy equaled that record last week in a 3-0 win against Newcastle and broke it this week just 24 minutes into the match. Fittingly, the Red Devils were the opponent for the record-breaking

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have both had their ups and downs so far in the 2015 2016 season, with the former replacing their coach and the latter going through an early dry spell that saw star striker Harry Kane playing at a lower-than-expected level. However, after week five both teams have secured spots in the Europa League 201516 knockout phase, marking a turn in the fortunes of both clubs.

The Reds and the Spurs are two of the 15 teams in this year's Europa League that, with just one game day remaining in the group stage, have officially earned advancement into the knockouts. That statistic leaves nine slots up for grabs, with the remaining eight to be filled by third-place squads from the Champions League.

Order UEL Jerseys

A Solid Premier League Showing

Liverpool secured their round of 32 spot thanks to a pair of first-half goals from James Milner and Christian Benteke, respectively. They went on to win the game-against Bordeaux-2-1. The win is only the second the Reds have managed

Manchester City and Arsenal-the football clubs that were sitting at the top of the Premier League table headed into this weekend-week 13 of 201516 EPL season proved to be thoroughly unlucky. Both teams lost, with Manchester City falling 1-4 against Liverpool and Arsenal stumbling to a 0-1 loss in an away game at West Bromwich Albion. The Sky Blues and the Gunners now occupy the third and fourth place spots on the table, respectively. It's the lowest Manchester City have dipped all season.

Order EPL Kit

Lucky Leicester

For many of the other most notable soccer clubs in the Premier League, though, week 13 proved to be surprisingly full of luck. Topping the list of fortunate teams are Leicester City, who beat Newcastle United 3-0 to scoot into first place in the league.

The win, in addition to netting the Foxes an impressive 28-point tally, also saw standout scorer Jamie Vardy equaling a Premier League record. During the 2003 2004 season, Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy scored