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Stoke striker Tuncay Sanli is again doubtful. Tuncay has yet to fully recover from a hamstring injury sustained in Stoke's 3-2 home win over Fulham 10 days ago. With the Potters failing to land England goalkeeper David James on loan from Portsmouth, boss Tony Pulis will decide between Thomas Sorensen and Steve Simonsen for the number one spot as the latter stepped in against the Cottagers after the Dane sustained a finger injury. | |||||
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Liverpool will be without their most influential trio of players in striker Fernando Torres, captain Steven Gerrard and midfielder Yossi Benayoun for Saturday's match at Stoke. All were injured in the midweek FA Cup exit to Reading, with Torres requiring knee surgery which will keep him out for six weeks, Benayoun sustaining a broken rib likely to sideline him for a month and Gerrard out for a fortnight with a hamstring problem. Goalkeeper Jose Reina, who missed out on Wednesday with a slight back injury, will be assessed late on. Defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano returns after a four-match suspension and new signing Maxi Rodriguez will also be involved after signing from Atletico Madrid in midweek. Winger Albert Riera is included again after recovering from a hamstring problem but Dutch forward Ryan Babel has been dropped from the squad. | |||||