Liverpool face Sunderland on Saturday, kick-off at 15:00 hours (BST), looking to return to winning ways after losing to Chelsea before the international break. Rafa Benitez will be without both Steve Gerrard and Torres who have failed to recover from knocks sustained on international duty, but both players could be back in contention for the next week: "Both Steven and Fernando still have some problems. They will need more time and won't be available this weekend. I think they could be available for next week", Rafa told to Reds oficcial website.

The Liverpool manager hopes that his will be able to cope without the two players for the trip to Sunderland. "Our opponents are doing well. They have some good players, are working very hard and are playing some good football and scoring goals at home, so it will be a tough game for us. We knew there could be a problem with Steven and Torres, so we are trying to manage with the players we have."

The Reds, who have won their last six meetings with Sunderland, require a victory from this weekend’s meeting at the Stadium of Light if they are to avoid falling too far off the pace. Liverpool are sixth with 15 points, 6 points behind current leaders Chelsea. - Premier League table -

Torres' absence means that the league’s top scorers will not come face to face on Saturday in the traditional afternoon kick-off. The Liverpool hitman tops the charts with eight goals in eight games, one ahead of Sunderland striker Darren Bent, who has hit seven goals for his club so far this season.

Liverpool will be aiming to get another good run underway with a win on the road from the game in the North-East. The Anfield club’s last unbeaten run was brought to an end at Stamford Bridge. The Blues moved top of the league with a 2-0 victory courtesy of second-half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.

The home side lie eighth and are just two points behind Liverpool. In Sunderland’s last Premier League fixture at Old Trafford the Black Cats were unlucky to come away with a 2-2 draw. Manchester United grabbed an equaliser after the 90 minutes were up to deny Steve Bruce’s side a deserved triumph.

The match against the Black Cats is the start of a busy nine days for the Reds. The Merseysiders face Olympique Lyon on Tuesday night at Anfield (kick-off at 19:45 hours, BST), before facing defending champions Manchester United on home soil a week on Sunday (kick-off at 14:00 hours, GMT).

Photo: J.A. Sirvent