Liverpool recover from mini-blip and strengthen top-four standing with easy win at Huddersfield

That is it for this particular live blog, thanks for following along. IBTimes UK will be back tomorrow to bring you all the fun of transfer deadline day plus a seven-strong slate of Premier League matches that includes Tottenham vs Manchester United.

Goodbye for now.

An extremely comfortable evening's work for Liverpool, who respond well to that mini-blip and move level on points with third-place Chelsea before the defending champions face Bournemouth on deadline day. Jurgen Klopp's men host Tottenham this weekend.

A fourth straight defeat - plus a seventh consecutive league match without a win - coupled with Swansea's shock victory over Arsenal means 14th-place Huddersfield now sit just one point above the relegation zone before Saturday's trip to Manchester United.

Full-time

Huddersfield 0-3 Liverpool

Late handball appeals against Lovren fall on deaf ears.

Three minutes of added time for Huddersfield to endure. This match has been over as a contest for quite a while.

Van La Parra tees up Ince, whose shot is deflected over by Gomez.

Klopp's final change of the evening sees Dominic Solanke replace Firmino.

Ince's shot on the turn is deflected wide after Lovren rises to meet Billing's latest long throw-in.

Lovren intercepts Quaner's cutback intended for Depoitre and Firmino sees an attempted volley bounce off his knee in slightly embarrassing fashion.

With three points in the bag, Klopp withdraws Salah and Henderson and sends on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum.

This match is now a family affair, with half-brothers Wijnaldum and Van La Parra both on the field.

Wagner sends on Tom Ince and Rajiv van La Parra in place of Lowe and Mooy.

Emphatic from Salah, who sends Lossl the wrong way to wrap up a most comfortable victory for Liverpool.

Goal: Huddersfield 0-3 Liverpool (Mohamed Salah)

Can is bundled over in the box by Billing and referee Friend points to the spot.

Salah - and not Firmino or Milner - assumes penalty duties for Liverpool, who have missed six of their last 10 attempts from 12 yards...

Penalty to Liverpool

Swansea currently lead Arsenal 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium - a result which would see them escape the relegation zone and push Huddersfield within one point of the bottom three.

It's 1-1 in the closing stages between West Ham and Crystal Palace.

Action at both ends as Matip gets a key touch on Quaner's low cross and Salah fires into the side netting after Kongolo fails to clear a long pass from Joe Gomez.

Lossl in no-man's land there.

Hopeful Huddersfield penalty appeals are waved away after substitute Quaner goes down after a slight touch to the shoulder from Robertson.

Correct decision.

A long throw-in from Billing is claimed easily by Karius as a rare Huddersfield attack ends with a whimper.

The goalkeeper launches the ball upfield and Hadergjonaj gets himself in an almighty muddle before a well-timed sliding challenge from Kongolo denies Firmino a run on goal.

Mane splits the Huddersfield centre-backs before heading Can's deep cross wide of the post. That should have been 3-0.

Huddersfield make a crucial interception on the edge of their own area before giving the ball away just seconds later. Repeat ad infinitum.

Mounie is the man to make way for Quaner in what looks to be a like-for-like change up top.

A thankless task tonight for the Benin international.

Zanka makes an important interception to stop Milner from benefiting from a nice Liverpool passing move, but Huddersfield then inexplicably try to knock it around on the edge of their own box and are almost caught out as Mane drags a shot well wide.

Collin Quaner is preparing to enter the fray for the hosts. 30 minutes remain.

Huddersfield again fail to keep possession after clearing a Robertson cross.

Lossl takes no chances with a fierce drive from Milner, tipping it over the crossbar.

Hadergjonaj goes down in pain after a tap to the ankle from Mane. He looks fine to continue.

Hogg, perhaps dismayed by the lack of bite from his teammates, leaves his mark on Lovren.

Can then picks out Mane with a glorious cross and Lossl gets down well to his left to keep out the resulting header.

A couple of Henderson deliveries towards Salah and Mane are plucked out of the air by Lossl.

Huddersfield do not appear to have altered their approach at all here, despite being 2-0 down. Far too submissive and defensive.

Robertson flagged offside as he tries to get down the outside of Hadergjonaj. Karius claims the ball bravely under pressure from Depoitre.

The second half is underway. No changes from either Wagner or Klopp just yet.

Huddersfield, who have conceded the most second-half goals in the Premier League so far this season (30), need a big effort to claim a share of the spoils here.

So far so good for Liverpool, who appear well on the way to bouncing back from those successive defeats thanks to goals from Can and Firmino.

They dominated the majority of that first half and were only really troubled by an early Depoitre shot and a bending free-kick from Lowe.

Huddersfield have been far too passive since going behind and now have a mountain to climb.

Half-time

Huddersfield 0-2 Liverpool

A moment to forget for Lossl as he is completely embarrassed by Firmino, who shapes to play a pass from the byline before squeezing the ball through the goalkeeper's legs and in off the post from a tight angle. That is the Brazilian's 19th goal of the season already.

Liverpool will head in at half-time with a comfortable two-goal advantage.

Goal: Huddersfield 0-2 Liverpool (Roberto Firmino)

One minute of added time signalled by the fourth official.

Karius races out of his area and gives Lovren a shout before heading the ball to safety with Depoitre bearing down.

Mounie has the ball in the net but the offside flag had long since been raised against Mooy.

Firmino stings Lossl's palms after a neat touch from Milner, but he too is flagged offside.

Liverpool struggle to clear an initial Huddersfield free-kick and Mane takes a rogue touch before bringing down the determined Hogg just outside the area.

With three Huddersfield players disrupting the wall, Lowe and Mooy stand over the ball before the former bends a left-footed effort narrowly wide of the far post.

There would have been questions for Karius had that found its way in.

Robertson skips past the challenge of Hadergjonaj to collect an incisive pass from Mane. He tries to pull the ball back for Milner, but Kongolo is alert to the danger.

Liverpool in complete control of this match with 10 minutes remaining until half-time.

Huddersfield have not been able to get a foot on the ball since Can's opening goal.

Lowe treats the elusive Salah to a bear hug and is fortunate to escape a yellow card. That was anything but subtle from the German left-back.

Salah's latest corner, conceded by Kongolo, is headed clear by Schindler. The Egyptian's woeful follow-up cross is then met firmly by Depoitre.

Schindler heads away Robertson's left-wing cross and the ball falls kindly on the edge of the box for Can, whose drilled low effort takes a big deflection off Billing before nestling beyond Lossl into the bottom corner.

First blood to the visitors with almost half an hour on the clock.

Goal: Huddersfield 0-1 Liverpool (Emre Can)

A long-range strike skips up in front of Lossl before being diverted away from goal. Liverpool keep the pressure on but Huddersfield remain disciplined in defence.

Salah slightly miscontrols a lofted pass from Lovren and Lossl shovels the ball out for a corner.

Liverpool force a second in quick succession, with Matip seeing a close-range attempt blocked by Mounie. Mooy clears.

Lossl claims another Liverpool cross before Firmino works tirelessly to track back and dispossess Billing.

The first real chance of the evening falls to Huddersfield. Lowe pulls the ball back for the unmarked Depoitre, whose shot into the ground loses momentum and is parried by Karius before being hacked clear.

Robertson sends a cross straight out of play after being picked out by Salah.

Lovren and Joel Matip then stand firm to repel crosses from wing-backs Hadergjonaj and Chris Lowe.

Florent Hadergjonaj tries to play in Steve Mounie but Milner brings the attack to a halt.

Salah is caught offside at the other end.

Robertson's effort is blocked by Schindler before a decisive piece of goalkeeping from Lossl.

Huddersfield's first real foray forward comes to nothing and Billing comes off worse from a collision of feet with Emre Can.

Slightly awkward...

76% possession from Liverpool in the opening five minutes, but nothing to show for it thus far.

Lossl scrambles to gather a long-range tester from Firmino with Mane lurking.

A sliced kick from Karius had found its way to Salah, although Mane's initial touch following a great pass from Firmino was poor.

A couple of early interventions from Zanka and Schindler as Liverpool, immediately on the front foot, search for an opening.

Referee Kevin Friend gets proceedings underway. Both sides are decked out in their familiar home strips, with Liverpool kicking from left to right in this first half as we look at it.

Can Liverpool bounce back from consecutive defeats, or will Huddersfield end their six-match winless run and take another major scalp at home? Let's find out.

Henderson and Jonathan Hogg lead out their respective teams. There is a good atmosphere building at the John Smith's Stadium.

During his pre-match broadcast interview, Klopp claims that the decision to drop Van Dijk is for rotation purposes rather than forced by any injury setback.

He speaks of the physicality that Henderson and Milner will add before joking that the latter is only starting because he is from Yorkshire.

West Brom pipped Newcastle and Inter Milan to a loan deal for Sturridge yesterday and further Anfield exits do look likely before tomorrow night, with forgotten winger Lazar Markovic in talks with Swansea and Wolfsburg.

Youngsters Ovie Ejaria and Lloyd Jones also look poised to join Sunderland and Luton Town respectively.

Klopp, who made the first major splash of the month with the £75m addition of Van Dijk from Southampton, says Liverpool always have their eyes on the window, but he believes that external solutions to that recent blip are not currently available and must therefore come from within.

He also categorically ruled out any possibility of replacing Coutinho before the deadline following the Brazilian's £142m move to Barcelona.

While the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City are all still heavily involved in the market, neither of these two clubs look set to be major players on deadline day.

Wagner has made it clear that he expects to secure no more new arrivals before 23.00 GMT on Wednesday in addition to letting it be known that he will not entertain offers for any member of his current squad.

Tonight is the first top-flight match between Huddersfield and Liverpool hosted by the former since 1972...

Dutch international Kongolo joined Huddersfield on loan just six months after leaving Feyenoord for Monaco in an £11.4m deal.

The Terriers' only other January signing, £11m midfielder Alex Pritchard, is among the substitutes.

Klopp also swaps six, with Loris Karius, Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson and James Milner replacing Simon Mignolet, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alberto Moreno and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Dejan Lovren starts ahead of Virgil van Dijk, who only makes the bench. Moreno is omitted from the matchday squad altogether.

Wagner makes six changes from the weekend, with Jonas Lossl, Mathias "Zanka" Jorgensen, Christopher Schindler, Aaron Mooy and Laurent Depoitre all back in the starting XI.

Danish midfielder Philip Billing also makes his first home Premier League start since August following ankle surgery.

Centre-back Kongolo overcomes that aforementioned knock to record his maiden top-flight start, while Scott Malone and Sean Scannell join Williams and Stankovic on the sidelines.

Official lineups are due to drop in just a couple of minutes. Stand by.

Klopp said that Liverpool had sustained a few knocks during that disappointing 3-2 home defeat by West Brom, but he was expecting to have the same squad of players available.

That means that Adam Lallana and Ragnar Klavan remain out along with Nathaniel Clyne, but captain Jordan Henderson could make his first league appearance since 22 December after marking his return from hamstring trouble with a 25-minute outing on Saturday evening.

Midfielder Danny Williams is doubtful for Huddersfield tonight after being taken off against Birmingham with a dead leg, but Monaco loanee Terence Kongolo is expected to shake off a minor knock suffered in the same game.

Long-term absentees Jon Gorenc Stankovic and Elias Kachunga remain sidelined along with Martin Cranie (ankle).

With all the latest non-stop, fervent transfer speculation flying around with just 28 and a half hours remaining until the end of the January window, you can be forgiven for forgetting that the Premier League have rather inconveniently scheduled a full fixture list among the mayhem over the next two nights.

While Arsenal's trip to Swansea and the London derby between West Ham and Crystal Palace are being covered by IBTimes UK sport editor Nick Howson, here our attention focuses solely on events in West Yorkshire - where Huddersfield and Liverpool lock horns at the John Smith's Stadium.

This fixture - in case you somehow had not heard - pits long-time friends and former Mainz teammates and Borussia Dortmund colleagues David Wagner and Jurgen Klopp against one another, with the latter coming out on top in their very first meeting in October thanks to second-half goals from Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum that followed a missed Mohamed Salah penalty.

Both managers head into tonight's contest searching for a lift, with Huddersfield, held at home by Championship strugglers Birmingham City in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday, now just two points above the relegation zone following a six-match winless run that includes three successive defeats. They could lose all of their first four league matches of a calendar year for the first time in 30 years.

Liverpool were sitting pretty as they temporarily went third, provided a perfect response to Philippe Coutinho's exit and extended their formidable unbeaten streak to 18 matches by inflicting a first defeat of the season on leaders Manchester City earlier this month, but the wheels have started to come off over the last fortnight with a VAR-dominated cup loss to West Brom preceded by a shock defeat at the hands of bottom club Swansea.

The Reds have never lost successive league games under Klopp - will that change this evening?

Stay tuned for all the latest team and transfer news and live updates after kick-off at 20.00 GMT.