No quick Torres return
Liverpool forward Fernando Torres looks set to be out for at least four weeks with his niggling hamstring injury.
The Spaniard suffered a reoccurance of the problem which has plagued him all season in the Champions League game against Marseille on November 26.
Reds manager Rafael Benitez said: "We will not rush him back. We want to resolve this problem once and for all and we'll make sure we do that."
Gerrard brushes off form
Steven Gerrard has brushed off Liverpool's recent poor form, insisting the team is the best he has played in.
The table-topping Reds are smarting after Monday's 0-0 home draw with West Ham, which followed previous lapses at home against supposedly lesser sides.
But Gerrard said: "In my 10 years in the first team, this is the first time that we have been where we are at this stage of the season."