Liverpool injury news: Mario Balotelli and Mamadou Sakho out of Leicester City game

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed both Mario Balotelli and Mamadou Sakho will mist the next Premier League game, against Leicester City on Tuesday 2 December.

Italian striker Balotelli sustained a hamstring injury while international duty on mid-November and has since unable to play for the Merseysiders – missing the two Premier League games against Crystal Palace and Stoke City, as well the Champions League draw with Ludogorets.

Meanwhile, Sakho has missed the eight last Premier League games after suffering a thigh injury while training before the Champions League game against Basel on 1 October.

The France international centre-back has already returned to full training but Rodgers claimed he is not yet ready for the game against Leicester.

"The squad will be pretty much the same," the manager said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the game.

"Sakho trained yesterday with the team for the first time but won't be match-ready yet. And Mario is still not fit."

With Daniel Sturridge also on the sidelines, Rodgers is likely to play Rickie Lambert up-front.

Meanwhile, after Kolo Toure and Daniel Skrtel secured their third clean-sheet of the season in the 1-0 win over Stoke, the manager could consider keeping the duo in the heart of the defence, with summer signing Dejan Lovren on the bench.

Rodgers has praised Toure and teammate Lucas Leiva after the pair's impressive performances in the last two games, against Stoke and Ludogorets, despite their playing time being restricted earlier in the campaign.

"I'm very happy with their performances. I think their contribution has been vital in the last two games," he said.

"They are players who understand the league, players who are experienced, and players who are winners. Both have been outstanding and they haven't played a great deal but they've come into the team and done very well."