Stoke vs Liverpool: Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino braced for recalls as Emre Can returns

Liverpool forwards Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are in line for recalls when the Merseysiders travel to Stoke City in the Premier League on Wednesday (29 November).

The pair were curiously left out of Jurgen Klopp's starting XI for the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday, despite being regulars this season.

Mane played the final minute of the game after replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but Firmino was an unused substitute as Liverpool held the Premier League champions.

Klopp has all but confirmed the pair will return for the trip to the Bet365 Stadium this week, but dismissed claims they were "rested" at the weekend.

"Probably but there are not the only two," said Klopp of Mane and Firmino, according to Sky Sports. "We had to make a few changes, this is the part of the season to use the strength of your squad. It is not completely unlikely that they will start [against Stoke].

"We don't 'rest', we 'use other players'! It was especially not the reason for the last game, we didn't think against Chelsea 'he needs a rest' or whatever. It was really more that we needed fresh legs, and actually I thought it worked quite well.

"It's a very important sign for the squad from my side that I show faith in pretty much all of them. It was very important for me that the boys showed me they are 100% ready. That was really good.

"Probably we will make one or two changes from the last game to the next game, then for the next game we will see how we deal with that. It will depend on what I see during the games and during the sessions."

Emre Can missed the game with an undisclosed muscle injury but is fit to face Stoke. However defender Dejan Lovren is unlikely to earn a recall as Liverpool attempt to determine the extent of his latest fitness setback.

The Croatia international – who had been nursing a back problem – was expected to figure against Chelsea, but was omitted from the matchday squad. Klopp says the club are in the dark over his current injury.

"Dejan will be close. It's not a big thing, swelling. We have to figure out what it is. He will try to run in a few minutes. I spoke to the doctor a second ago. Emre Can is back in the squad for sure."

Willian's fortuitous equaliser cancelled out Mohamed Salah's strike to end a run of three league wins in a row for Liverpool which leaves them 14 points behind leaders Manchester City. But Klopp is unwilling to give up in pursuit of the title.

"Have I conceded [the title]? I don't know," he added. "I saw the game against Huddersfield [2-1]. Yes, Man City deserved to win but it was not like Huddersfield could not have won," said Klopp.

"The last game before that I think they won 1-0. As long as they win, no one else has the chance. If they stop winning, it is possible that you can get them still. I don't care about that at the moment. We have to get the next three, and if someone struggles then you can be there."