Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Sunderland at Anfield. Both sides come into this match in disappointing form and will be desperate to pick up a much-needed victory on Merseyside this afternoon, so we should be in for an interesting encounter. Let's start with a look at the two teams...

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno; Henderson, Can, Allen; Lallana, Milner, Firmino

LIVERPOOL SUBS: Ward, Toure, Benteke, Sturridge, Lucas, Ibe, Flanagan

SUNDERLAND STARTING XI: Mannone; Jones, O'Shea, Kone, Kirchhoff, van Aanholt; Cattermole, M'Vila, Khazri; Watmore, Defoe

SUNDERLAND SUBS: Pickford, Brown, Rodwell, N'Doye, Johnson, Toivonen, Yedlin

What can we make of those two teams, then? Well, there are no surprises on the Liverpool front as far as the starting XI is concerned, but perhaps the most notable inclusion comes on the bench. Daniel Sturridge is included amongst the subs when he was expected to have been held back for a little while longer alongside the likes of Skrtel, Coutinho and Origi, all of whom are currently sidelined. He may well get a very rare piece of action today as he continues his recovery from various injury problems.

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There is only one change in the starting XI from the side that was beaten by Leicester in midweek, and that comes in midfield as Joe Allen, who has recovered from a shoulder problem, replaces Lucas in the side. Allen enjoyed a good January for Liverpool, popping up with a couple of important goals and also scoring the winning penalty in a shootout with Stoke to reach the League Cup final, and he is rewarded with a start alongside Can and Henderson in midfield today.

Aside from that, it is Klopp's favoured XI today, at least with the players available to him at the moment. The back four remains unchanged, with Clyne, Lovren, Sakho and Moreno in defence, although the latter has been questioned for his recent form so could find his position under threat if things don't improve soon. Behind them, Mignolet is also no stranger to criticism but remains a firm favourite of Klopp and starts again today.

Perhaps the main choice for Klopp to make today was whether to start Firmino or Benteke up front for Liverpool, with neither having particularly impressed over the last three games. Benteke has scored six goals in seven Premier League outings against Sunderland, including the winner in the reverse fixture, while Firmino has scored four goals in his last four league games, having only managed one in his previous 17. Klopp has opted for the latter, once again going for the false nine formation.

The big news for the visitors is that their main January signing, Wahbi Khazri, is handed his first start for the club having made his Sunderland debut as a half-time sub against Manchester City in midweek. He impressed during that 45-minute cameo too, and there have even been comparisons with the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff, who Allardyce was able to bring to Bolton during his time at the club.

Khazri is not the only January arrival to be involved today, with Kone and Kirchhoff also starting in what is expected to be the same formation that Allardyce used against Man City. That saw Kirchhoff play just in front of the two central defenders as more of a defensive midfielder, which could be an important position today with Firmino dropping deep. Kone is one of those centre-backs, partnering O'Shea at the heart of the defence.

In midfield, Yann M'Vila has overcome a foot injury to start the game, but Jeremain Lens is out with a groin injury, opening the door for Khazri. That is one of two changes to the side that lost narrowly at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday, with the other seeing Duncan Watmore come in for Borini. With Cattermole and M'Vila anchoring the midfield, Sunderland will no doubt look to use Khazri and Watmore on the break.

The main goal threat will come from Jermain Defoe, though. The striker is widely seen as Sunderland's best hope of staying in the division this season, and there is no doubt that he has the goals to pick up points for the Black Cats. He will be hopeful that the likes of Khazri and Watmore can provide him with service and, with Liverpool's attack struggling in recent games, one chance could be all that Defoe - and Sunderland - need today.

The Reds will need to be wary, then, but they certainly go into this match as favourites and anything other than a victory would be a disappointing result for the hosts this afternoon. They will be without Jurgen Klopp in the dugout, though, with the German manager absent today due to appendicitis, and it will be interesting to see whether that affects the team or not.

Having said that, Klopp has not exactly inspired Liverpool to great things so far in his tenure. There have been highlights which hint at a more encouraging future for the Reds, but they have been few and far between for the most part. Liverpool have been far too inconsistent to achieve their goals this season, with the gap to the top four now standing at 11 points - and the gap to leaders Leicester set to grow to 16 with the Foxes cruising against Man City at the moment.

The arrival of Klopp was, understandably, met with huge excitement among the Liverpool fans, but any of them expecting an immediate turnaround in fortunes will have been disappointed so far. The Reds have reached the final of the League Cup and remain in both the FA Cup and Europa League, but in the Premier League they have averaged fewer points per game under Klopp (1.4) than they did under Brendan Rodgers this season (1.5).

It is hard to nail down exactly where the main problems lie, due mainly to the inconsistency in so many aspects of the performances. Liverpool scored five against Norwich last month, but since then have gone three games without scoring, indeed without even looking like scoring. Even with the five against Norwich they are the lowest scorers in the top eight of the table, while at the other end of the field they have conceded 34 goals - no team has conceded more outside the bottom six.

Their 5-4 triumph over Norwich is their only Premier League win from five games in 2016 so far, taking just four points from a possible 15 in that time. However, they have also not lost consecutive matches since being beaten by West Ham and Manchester United in August-September. Another defeat would see them fall to that fate today after their 2-0 reverse at the hands of Leicester on Tuesday, with Jamie Vardy scoring both goals, including a stunning opener, while Liverpool looked painfully toothless going forward.

Liverpool's last home league game came against Manchester United when they lost 1-0 despite dominating long spells of the match, which means that another loss here would see them fall to consecutive home defeats in the top flight for the first time since September 2012. In all, they have won only two of their seven home league games so far under Klopp, and have actually won twice as many on the road since his arrival.

In all competitions, Liverpool's only home victory since Boxing Day came against League Two Exeter City in an FA Cup replay, while they have won only three of their last 10 at Anfield in the Premier League. Even when they do win at Anfield, it tends to be a narrow victory, with their last home league win by more than one goal coming way back in April of last year.

Sunderland may be confident that they at least won't be on the end of the drubbing here, then, and Allardyce will be confident that his side can even come away from Anfield with something to show for their efforts. That belief will have grown out of their match in midweek which, although it ended in defeat to Man City, showed a much better performance. City needed Joe Hart to keep Sunderland at bay on a number of occasions on their way to a narrow 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.

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There is no doubting that their position looks relatively bleak, though. They have picked up just 19 points from their 24 games so far this season, losing a joint league-high 15 of those outings. That leaves them four points adrift of safety and set for another relegation scramble. Their hopes of staying up are still very much alive - which is perhaps more than what can be said for Aston Villa - but it is going to need another good spell of form somewhere down the line.

Sunderland have almost perfected the great escape in recent years, but any turnaround in form is unlikely to come in the near future considering their upcoming fixtures. Having already played Manchester City last time out, the Black Cats now take on Liverpool, Manchester United, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Everton in their next six games, and with some of the teams around them in the table beginning to pick up points on a more regular basis, that could leave them cast adrift in the bottom three.

Their main problems this season have come at the back, which is why Allardyce moved to bring in Kone and Kirchhoff during the January transfer window. They have conceded 47 goals in their 24 matches so far and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 10 games, since a 2-0 win over Stoke in November. At the other end of the field things aren't so bad in comparison to other relegation-threatened teams. On team has scored more outside the bottom five, and only three sides have scored more outside the top eight of the table - a figure Allardyce will be hoping improves further with the addition of Khazri.

Sunderland have only won five matches all season, and the concern for them heading into today's game will be that none of those have come against teams currently in the top nine. Indeed, their record against teams from Watford up is dreadful - they have picked up only one point from 33 available against the top nine this term, with that solitary point coming in a 2-2 draw with West Ham. They haven't beaten a team outside the bottom five since that win over Stoke in November.

Things don't get much better when you look at their away form either. Only Aston Villa have amassed fewer points on the road than the Black Cats this season, while their defensive record away from home is comfortably the worst in the division, with 34 conceded. In all competitions they have let in 25 in their last eight away games - more than three per games - and have lost 10 of their 13 matches on the road this season.

They have, however, scored in each of their last seven Premier League away games, which is their best run since April 2013. Another goal today would see them net for an eighth game in a row, which is a feat that the club has not achieved since 1964. Liverpool haven't exactly looked the most solid team at the back so far this season, so hopes will be high that they can at least equal that landmark.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Anfield, which means that it is time for a prediction! Neither side come into his match in good form and Sunderland may feel that they have more of a chance today than they will have done on many previous visits to Anfield. However, the hosts are still favourites and should be able to get a much-needed victory after three consecutive disappointing displays. I'm going for a 1-0 Liverpool win.

This is something of a bogey ground for Sunderland, who have not won a top-flight match at Anfield since October 1982 - a run of 16 games. They have failed to even score in their last three league meetings home or away, while their last victory over the Reds came in March 2012 when Nicklas Bendtner scored the only goal of the game at the Stadium of Light. Liverpool are unbeaten in seven meetings since then, winning five of those.

Couple Sunderland's record at Anfield with that of Sam Allardyce and things begin to look even worse for the Black Cats. Allardyce has never won a Premier League here as manager, losing 10 and drawing two of his 12 attempts. The only other manager to have gone as many Premier League games without a win at Anfield was David Moyes.

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The reverse fixture between these two sides at the Stadium of Light was the final Premier League game of 2015 and was decided by a solitary, with Christian Benteke getting it just after half time. Goals have been of short supply in the most recent meetings between the two teams, and there were none at all the last time they met at Anfield, with the Black Cats holding on for a 0-0 draw in December 2014.

Right, we're just a couple of minutes away from kickoff now! The players are out and we're almost ready to go. Leicester have already made a statement today with a stunning 3-1 victory away to Man City, and you can follow the rest of the afternoon action with Sports Mole.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Liverpool get us underway at Anfield as they look to return to winning ways in the absence of manager Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool have seen the bulk of possession in these opening exchanges, as expected. They have settled well, although Sunderland are also looking to start at a decent tempo.

The visitors are worked hard off the ball early on here, particularly looking to squeeze the Liverpool defenders when the hosts have possession. They look to have identified Sakho and Lovren as possible weaknesses on the ball.

SHOT! The first shot comes from the visitors as a good back-heel finds Van Aanholt overlapping in space down the left. He strides forward and drives a low strike towards goal, but it ends up a few yards wide.

Good, open spell in the game here as both sides make quick breaks forward at either end of the field. As expected Sunderland are looking to get the ball forward quickly in order to catch the Reds out on the counter.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Liverpool haven't had much luck with injuries this season, and they are forced into another early change here as Lovren limps off to be replaced by Kolo Toure.

Nothing to shout about in terms of chances for either side so far. Sunderland have come closest through that Van Aanholt effort which Mignolet comfortably watched wide.

Liverpool have seen the majority of the ball in this match, but they may need to be patient here. Sunderland are set up to frustrate and hit on the break, so Liverpool will need to bide their time looking for a way through.

Liverpool do well to work space for Moreno on the left, and the full-back takes his time to swing a very tempting ball into the box. However, no red shirts can get on the end of it and the danger passes.

Sunderland's wingers are going to need to work really hard as soon as they win the ball back here. They are defending very deep, which is leaving Defoe isolated up front when the ball is played up towards him. It could be a difficult afternoon for the striker if he doesn't get that support.

CHANCE! Liverpool's first chance of the day falls to Moreno as Kirchhoff is dispossessed inside his own half. He wants a foul, but the referee waves play on and Liverpool find themselves in a very promising position. Lallana waits for Moreno to come up in support before slipping a pass to him, but Mannone makes a good save from Moreno's low effort.

The resulting corner is flicked on at the near post and causes panic in the Sunderland defence before they eventually get it clear.

Concern for Watmore here as he lands awkwardly from an aerial battle with Moreno. He receives treatment on the field before limping off, but it looks at though he will try to run it off.

SUNDERLAND SUB: Watmore is unable to continue and Sunderland are also forced into an early change here. Watmore trudges off to be replaced by Dame N'Doye.

That switch hasn't altered Sunderland's shape at all, with N'Doye being a straight swap for Watmore on the right. N'Doye is less of a wide player than the man he replaced, however, so it will be interesting to see how that develops.

CHANCE! Decent opening for Liverpool as they get in behind the Sunderland defence down the left, with Milner driving towards goal. He has Lallana in the middle, but O'Shea does well to intercepted the pull-back. The hosts should have made more of that situation.

SHOT! After that attack breaks down the ball is played back to Firmino, who curls one off target from the edge of the area.

It has been all Liverpool in the opening half an hour of this game. They have dominated possession but, in what has been the story of recent games, have struggled to turn that possession into clear-cut chances.

UPDATE: Bad news for Sunderland as their relegation rivals - and North-East rivals - Newcastle have taken the lead against West Brom through Mitrovic. Elsewhere, Everton are 2-0 up against Stoke and Swansea - another side down towards the bottom - lead Crystal Palace 1-0.

We have just under 10 minutes left of this first half and we're still goalless here at Anfield. There will be a sense of it all being the same for Liverpool at the moment, with Sunderland doing a good job of frustrating them so far.

Liverpool win another corner which is drilled in to the near post for Can. He puts a backward header high up into the air, but it drops wide of the far post.

YELLOW CARD! N'Doye goes into the book for a challenge on Sakho, going up for an aerial ball and leading with his elbow.

Swift break from Liverpool as they come forward down the left, with Allen breaking forward from midfield. He cuts a low pass into the box, but Henderson can't get out the way of it and another promising attack breaks down.

It's just begun to open up a little in the last couple of minutes, which will certainly suit Liverpool. Sunderland have packed out the middle of the pitch so far, which is making things difficult for the hosts.

CLOSE! Almost the opener just before half time as Can wins the ball back inside the Sunderland half and gives it to Firmino. The Brazilian only has one thought in his mind as he collects the ball and hits it left-footed, but it zips narrowly over the crossbar.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool! Again they find space, this time down the right, and Lallana works his way into a bit of space to put the ball into the box. The cross finds its way all the way through to Moreno, who has got the wrong side of N'Doye, but he sends his stooping header over the top.

There will be a minimum of four minutes added time at the end of this first half.

M'Vila does well to spin away from one man and drive towards goal before firing a shot over the bar, but Bobby Madley blows for a free kick as he is pulling the trigger, so Sunderland will have a chance here.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Before that, though, Liverpool are forced into a second early sub as Allen is replaced by Jordon Ibe.

Van Aanholt takes the free kick from around 30 yards out, but drills his strike comfortably wide of the target.

CLOSE! Van Aanholt makes an important contribution at the other end here as Liverpool sweep forward, but a low cross into the box it cut out by the full-back and sent narrowly wide of his own goal.

The first half comes to an end at Anfield, then, and we're still goalless between Liverpool and Sunderland. The Reds have dominated possession, with 81% in that first half, but have struggled to turn that into chances. Sunderland will be fairly happy with their performance so far, but they have another 45 minutes to hold out here.

The best chances of the half have fallen to the left-backs of either team. For Liverpool, Moreno was played in down the left channel after 20 minutes and drove a low ball towards goal that Mannone managed to turn behind with his feet, before sending a stooping header off target when he should have done better towards the end of the half.

Sunderland were actually the first team to threaten when Patrick van Aanholt was played in down the left flank, but he dragged his effort wide of the far post and the Black Cats have offered very little in an attacking sense apart from that. They would be happy with a goalless draw here, but will also know that Liverpool are likely to give them one chance - be it on the break or from a set piece.

Firmino has flashed a couple of efforts off target on the rare occasions where he has found a bit of space, including one powerful strike that whizzed narrowly over the crossbar. Milner has also squandered a decent opportunity when he got in behind the defence down the left before pulling the ball back into the middle, where O'Shea was there to clear the danger.

Both sides were also forced into early changes in that first half due to injuries, with Liverpool losing Lovren and Allen, while Sunderland were forced to withdraw Watmore. That, of course, limits the options for both sides in this second half, in particular Liverpool, who may find themselves with a decision whether to bring on Sturridge or Benteke.

KICKOFF: Sunderland get us back underway for the second half here as they look to pull off what could become a smash-and-grab.

UPDATE: There are interesting subplots developing elsewhere that could affect Sunderland in this game here. The other two sides in the bottom three are both currently winning, which could increase their urgency for a more positive result.

Good, positive play from Ibe as he injects a bit of pace into the attack, driving through a couple of defenders on his way into the box. The area is too crowded, though, and the attack once again breaks down.

CHANCE! Another decent opening for Liverpool, and again it comes through Moreno. The full-back is left in space and Firmino finds him with a through-ball. Moreno slides a pass right across the face of goal, but there are no Red shirts there to tap it in.

CLOSE! Brilliant play from Firmino as he twists and turns with the ball, slides it through the legs of Kirchhoff and then hammers a 25-yard effort narrowly wide of the target.

Liverpool have made a decent start to this second half and are beginning to look a little more dangerous coming forward now as well.

SHOT! Mignolet collects a cross and immediately looks to launch a counter, but his throw is straight to Kirchhoff. He gives it to Defoe, but with Liverpool out of position and teammates in support, Defoe fires wide of the target.

Liverpool finally break the deadlock! It is Firmino who gets the goal, and through a rather unlikely means as he heads the Reds in front. It was a fine cross from Milner to pick him out, sending it deep to the back post, where Firmino has peeled away from Van Aanholt. From there, he nods it back across goal and into the far corner.

That has raised the volume levels inside Anfield, and Liverpool smell a bit of blood here. They have finally made the breakthrough and now can play with a little less pressure on their shoulders.

CHANCE! Almost a second for Liverpool as Ibe picks up a short corner before earning a yard inside the area by scooting past N'Doye. His strike is a powerful one, but Jones gets a crucial touch to send it over the top.

SAVES! Liverpool are really knocking on the door here. Mannone is forced into a couple of saves in quick succession, first denying Lallana's central effort before getting down well to parry Ibe's low strike moments later.

CLOSE! It is all Liverpool right now. Henderson looks to join the party against his former club as the ball drops to him 25 yards from goal, and his long-range strike swerves narrowly wide.

SUNDERLAND SUB: A second change for Sunderland as Adam Johnson replaces Kirchhoff.

CHANCE! Warning shot for Liverpool as Sunderland probably should be level against the run of play. Van Aanholt is the threat again, racing into the box, but he can only slice his effort into the side-netting with only Mignolet to beat.

That will certainly let Liverpool know that they need a second goal here. They have had the chances in this second half, but as long as the deficit remains one, Sunderland will feel that they are still in this game.

There is that second goal! It stems from a defensive error as Jones takes too long on the ball and sees his clearance blocked by Firmino. The Brazilian races on to the loose ball down the left and into the box, and unselfishly squares it for Lallana to tap it in for a simple finish. That could be game over.

This has been much better from Liverpool in the second half. They have dominated possession throughout the game, but since the interval they have looked a lot more like scoring. They are now on course for their first home league win by more than one goal for the first time since April.

Liverpool get in behind again, this time through Lallana down the right, but nothing comes of it this time.

SUNDERLAND SUB: A third and final change for Sunderland as Jones is replaced by DeAndre Yedlin.

'You'll Never Walk Alone' rings around Anfield - premature perhaps but there is a fan walk-out planned for the 77th minute here so it could well be approaching the end of the game for many of the supporters unhappy with recent increases in ticket prices.

Many fans are indeed now filing out of the stadium, while also making their displeasure known to the board.

SHOT! Lallana looks to add a third for Liverpool as the ball breaks to him on the right, but he drives his first-time strike into the side-netting.

YELLOW CARD! Moreno picks up the second yellow card of the day for a foul on Khazri.

Now then! Sunderland give themselves hope late on by pulling a goal back, and questions will once again be asked of Mignolet. It comes from a free kick as Johnson curls it towards the bottom corner. Mignolet is across in good time and gets a hand to the ball, but it squirms away from him and sneaks in. The Liverpool keeper should have saved that.

That goal went in in front of an eerily empty Kop, with so many fans have filtered out of the stadium in protest. There is a strange atmosphere inside Anfield at the moment - it isn't often you see the ground this empty while a game is taking place.

LIVERPOOL SUB: There will be no Sturridge, or Benteke, today as Lucas Leiva is the third and final change for Liverpool, replacing Henderson.

Incredible scenes at Anfield as Sunderland complete a late, late comeback! Khazri is allowed to turn on the edge of the box and poke a pass through to Defoe, who holds off Sakho before planting a fine finish past Mignolet on the turn. Deadly from Defoe, who has had so little to feed off all game. This certainly didn't seem likely 10 minutes ago!

There will be a minimum of four minutes added time at the end of this match.

Bobby Madley brings an end to proceedings at Anfield, then, and what a dramatic end it way. Having looked dead and buried with 10 minutes remaining, Sunderland launched a late comeback to rescue a 2-2 draw against Liverpool, who will be kicking themselves at not having won this game. Many fans missed the two Sunderland goals after staging a mass walk-out in protest over ticket prices, and they must be scratching their heads right now having heard Liverpool somehow failed to win a match that they were in complete control of.

All of the goals came in the second half, with Liverpool finally breaking the deadlock through Firmino's header shortly before the hour mark. Firmino turned provider a little over 10 minutes later to put Liverpool in control, setting up Lallana for the simple finish, but there would be a sting in the tail for the hosts. Sunderland's comeback began via a goalkeeping error from Mignolet, who allowed Johnson's curling free kick to squirm under his arm having got to the ball in plenty of time. Defoe then fired home an equaliser in the 89th minute to seal the unlikely point.

That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for a dramatic clash at Anfield as Sunderland come from two goals down in the final 10 minutes to rescue a point against Liverpool. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction from both camps. We also have live coverage of Southampton vs. West Ham already underway, so be sure to check that out too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!