Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Europa League clash between Liverpool and Swiss side Sion at Anfield. The visitors currently lead the way in Group B following their victory on matchday one, but Liverpool could end the evening top of the pile if they pick up their first win of the campaign here. Let's start with a look at some team news...

LIVERPOOL STARTING XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Toure, Gomez; Can, Lallana, Rossiter, Allen, Ibe; Origi, Ings

LIVERPOOL SUBS: Bogdan, Coutinho, Sakho, Moreno, Brannagan, Randall, Chirivella

What can we make of that Liverpool team first and foremost, then? Well, as expected Brendan Rodgers has made a number of changes to the team that beat Aston Villa at the weekend, and the manager has promised to keep that practice up throughout the tournament as he looks to blood a few young players and give others a chance to impress. One of those youngsters is Jordan Rossiter, who featured sporadically last season and made his European debut against Bordeaux on matchday one. He starts again in the centre of midfield tonight.

Liverpool are expected to deploy a 3-5-2 formation again this evening, just as they did against Aston Villa. None of the midfielders from the weekend keep their place, but Lallana, who scored Liverpool's only goal of the group stage so far, is among those to come in. Clyne and Ibe are likely to play as wing-backs on either flank, with Lallana and Rossiter being joined in the middle of the park by Joe Allen.

Emre Can is one of just four players to keep his place from the weekend, and he is once again expected to play in a defensive three. Kolo Toure, who picked up a slight injury against Bordeaux on matchday one and Joe Gomez, who made such a bright start to his Liverpool career, will join him at the back, while Mignolet in between the sticks is the second of the four who keep their places.

The third of those is Danny Ings, who has seen much more regular playing time since Christian Benteke picked up his injury. The switch of formation to two up top should give him more chances as well, and tonight is another opportunity for him to prove himself to Brendan Rodgers. It is fair to say that, with a fully fit squad, Ings would be behind both Sturridge and Benteke in the pecking order, but a few goals could make the summer arrival undroppable ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby.

Joining Ings up front is Divock Origi, whose own playing time has been severely limited so far this season. All the early indications suggest that he won't get many chances beyond the cup competitions and the Europa League, so it is on nights like this that he will have to prove himself to Rodgers. There isn't exactly a wealth of attacking options on the bench for Liverpool either, so the pressure is on that front two to provide here.

SION STARTING XI: Vaņins; Ziegler, Lacroix, Zverotic, Kouassi; Salatic, Pa Modou, Fernandes, Carlitos; Konate, Assifuah

SION SUBS: Fickentscher, Vanczak, Rufli, Ndoye, Mujangi Bia, Zeman, Follonier

As for Sion, they make five changes in all from their weekend defeat to Vaduz, two of which come in defence as Lacroix and Kouassi come in for Vanczak and Rufli, both of whom drop to the bench. Further forward, Pa Modou, Fernandes and Assifuah are also brought in by manager Didier Tholot, with Bia, Ndoye and Cichero the ones to make way.

The main danger man Liverpool will need to look out for tonight are Carlitos and Konate. The former can be a very tricky customer and likes to run at his markers, going on no fewer than 10 dribbles on matchday one - the second highest number throughout the Europa League. Konate, meanwhile, got both of his side's goals in their 2-1 victory over Rubin Kazan.

There will be one or two familiar names in the squad for watchers of English football, most of all full-back Reto Ziegler, most famously of Tottenham Hotspur. He actually scored past Liverpool in a penalty shootout during his time in North London and is a key player for Sion nowadays. Zverotic was with Fulham until the summer, while Bia, who has to make do with a place on the bench tonight, has previously spent time on loan with Wolves and Watford.

There is no doubt that Liverpool come into this match tonight as pretty comfortable favourites, and a good solid win could be exactly what Brendan Rodgers needs ahead of what is an important few days for the club. They face Everton in the first Merseyside derby of the campaign this Sunday and, after the international break, have a difficult run of fixtures that they will need to find a bit of form for.

There is no doubt that Rodgers is under pressure, though, and defeat this evening would really crank up the pressure ahead of Sunday and beyond. It has not been a convincing start to the season by any stretch of the imagination as far as the Reds are concerned and, despite winning their most recent outing, they remain ninth in the Premier League table and must improve performance-wise if they are to fulfil their top-four ambitions this season.

While their start has been rather lacklustre, it should also be noted that Liverpool are still just two points off the top four, helped largely by a number of the other top teams slipping up along the way. It is still very early days, of course, and the table doesn't really begin to take any sort of shape until at least 10 games into the season, but Rodgers will know that this could be perhaps the most competitive season yet and his side could be in danger of falling away from the pack if their inauspicious start continues much longer.

As mentioned, they were victorious last time out against Aston Villa, who have been something of a bogey team for Liverpool at Anfield in recent seasons. The result was, of course, the most important thing to snap their winless streak, but again it wasn't the most convincing display. There were positives - chief among them the return of Sturridge's goals - but they were given a real test by a team expected to be battling it out at the bottom of the table this season.

Even with those three goals, Liverpool are still the lowest scorers in the top 12 of the Premier League table this season, while only four teams have scored fewer overall - a similar problem to the one they had last season. It isn't like they have been extra solid at the back either, with only Leicester conceding more in the top 11 and only three defences outside the bottom five proving to be leakier than Liverpool's. It started well enough with three clean sheets, but since then they have not kept any in six outings.

Needless to say, low scoring at one end and a leaky defence at the other is not the best combination in football, and it is no surprise that the wins Liverpool have managed have all been by just a single goal. The win over Villa at the weekend was their first inside 90 mins since August 17 and, while they are on a four-game unbeaten run now, those results have included disappointing draws against Bordeaux, Norwich and Carlisle, the latter of whom they needed penalties to beat in the League Cup.

Anfield hasn't provided too much solace for them this season either. They have a very mixed record in front of their own fans so far, scraping past Bournemouth and Villa, drawing with Norwich and Carlisle, and of course being thrashed 3-0 by West Ham United. Including their final home game of last season, they have now won just two of their last six at home, which is simply not good enough when you consider some of the teams they have been playing.

Their record at home in this competition is a little more encouraging, though. In either its current guise or harking back to the UEFA Cup days, Liverpool have lost just one of their last 22 matches at Anfield, with that defeat coming at the hands of Udinese in October 2012. It is a run that stretches back to March 2003, although that gap is helped largely by Liverpool's many years in the Champions League during that time.

Indeed, they have won four of their last seven European home games, including the Champions League, although two of the teams to have taken points off them in that time have been Swiss sides. Young Boys came away from Anfield with a draw, while Basel famously earned a point here last season to knock the Reds out of the Champions League at the group stage. Real Madrid, who triumphed 3-0 here in that same group stage last season, are the only other visiting side to win here in Europe during that time.

Matchday one saw the Reds held to a draw in France courtesy of Jussie's late equaliser for Bordeaux. Not for the first - or indeed the last - time this season, there were question marks over Liverpool's defending for the goal, which cancelled out Adam Lallana's well-taken opener to ensure that the spoils were shared.

As for Sion, they got off to a winning start in Group B and lead the way as a result coming into tonight. They overcame Rubin Kazan with an impressive 2-1 home victory, Moussa Konate getting both goals for his side. The second of those came in the 82nd minute to hand Sion all three points after he had seen his earlier opener cancelled out.

They haven't had too much to cheer about since that victory, though. They come into this match off the back of consecutive defeats which have seen them slip to mid-table in the Swiss Super League. Didier Tholot's fifth-placed side are already 13 points adrift of league leaders Basel having won four and lost four of their opening 10 outings. Their two defeats in a row followed a run of four consecutive victories in all competitions, and another loss tonight would condemn them to four on the bounce for the first time since April.

The latest of those defeats was a particularly damaging one on Sunday. They hosted Vaduz, a team who sat bottom of the table at the time, but slumped to a 1-0 loss courtesy of Kukuruzovic's solitary goal 15 minutes from time. The loss was made even more disappointing by the fact that struggling Vaduz were forced to play the entire second half with 10 men having had a man sent off.

This is Sion's first appearance in the group stages of a major European competition, but they have participated in the UEFA Cup before. Their victory over Rubin Kazan was their first in either competition since September 2007, a run of six games that also includes one draw and four defeats. Their overall record stands at four wins, four draws and five defeats from their 13 outings.

Each one of those victories have come in front of their own fans, however. They have never won an away game in either the Europa League or the UEFA Cup, drawing three and losing three, including a default 3-0 defeat at the hands of Celtic on their last visit to Britain. They have conceded 14 goals in their last five European away games, while their last victorious trip on the continental stage came way back in the 1998 Intertoto Cup.

Sion did win the Swiss Cup last season for the 13th time in their history, and the second time in the last five years, so they can come up with big results now and again. Their recent form has been fiercely criticised by the club's chairman, though, with Christian Constantin claiming that his players didn't deserved to be paid having fallen to their second consecutive defeat at the weekend.

Manager Didier Tholot has a bit of history in this competition, or at least its predecessor the UEFA Cup. He reached the final in 1996 with Bordeaux, who incidentally share a group with these two sides this season. Tholot is currently in his third spell with Sion, during which time he has won two Swiss Cups, and interestingly he spent time playing in England with Walsall briefly.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Anfield, which means that it is time for a prediction! Liverpool have not been at their best this season and it is a weakened side named by Rodgers, but they should still have enough about them to see off Sion. It is not often the visitors will have travelled to such a famous stadium, and they will need to be wary of being overawed by the occasions. I'm going for a 3-0 home win.

These two sides have actually met each other twice before, back in the 1996-97 Cup Winners' Cup. Roy Evans's Liverpool progressed on that occasions, although there was a slice of history for Sion as they became the first visiting side to ever score three goals at Anfield in European competition. The only problem was Liverpool scored six! The Reds wrapped up an 8-4 aggregate victory, but Sion certainly made their mark, and only Barcelona, Chelsea, Udinese and Real Madrid have achieved that feat since.

Those two games are Sion's only previous meetings with English sides, but Liverpool have rather more experience against Swiss opposition, losing just one of their last 11 meetings. That defeat did come just last season at the hands of Basel, however, while the same team dumped them out of the Champions League with a draw at Anfield in the reverse fixture, so recent memories have not been pleasant ones for Liverpool when it comes to Swiss clubs.

Liverpool have never lost to a Swiss side at Anfield, but the last three meetings here have all ended in draws, taking their overall record to won three, drawn three from six meetings. It would be a major surprise if that unbeaten record was to end tonight, and even a draw would be a shock result. Liverpool really should be beating this level of opposition.

The players are out and we're just about ready to go here. As ever, there is a good atmosphere inside Anfield for this European night.

KICKOFF: Here we go, then! After a mixed week for English clubs in Europe, can Liverpool bring a winning end to proceedings?

As expected, Liverpool have lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Lallana just floating about behind the front two of Ings and Origi.

What a start for Liverpool! That is just what they needed as Lallana flicks the ball on to Origi from what looked like an offside position. The flag doesn't go up, however, and Origi shows good strength and pace to get to the byline down the right channel. He pulls the ball back well for Lallana too, and the midfielder sweeps it into the gaping net. That is two and two for Lallana in the Europa League this season.

Origi had a huge part to play in that goal, laying it on a plate for Lallana. He looked to have lost possession at one point, but he got himself back up and made a really bright run to the byline. Positive start from the Belgian.

Liverpool have an element of control over this game early on. Sion have offered very little going forward at the moment and Liverpool are looking comfortable, although the earlier they can get the second goal the better from the hosts' point of view.

It may be a night for patience for Liverpool, even with that early goal. Sion have got plenty of men back behind the ball at all times and are relying on quick counter-attacks when they do win possession.

Ibe looks like he is keen to run at his full-back whenever he gets the chance tonight, and his pace has caused one or two problems already this evening. The winger hasn't made any serious progress, but there are just a couple of signs that he could get some joy down the left.

Vanins needs to be alert here as Ziegler sells him short with a back-pass which attracts the interest of Ings. The keeper is quickly off his line to clear the ball away, though.

SAVE! Origi is another who has been lively so far, and again he runs direct at his full-back. He cuts inside before seeing his shot deflected to Ibe at the back post, and the winger draws a save from the feet of the keeper with the angle very much against him.

CHANCE! Lovely football from football as Allen gives the ball to Lallana, who flicks it back into the path of his midfield partner. Allen then delays his pass on the edge of the area before sliding it through for Ings, but Vanins comes out to make a big save.

Out of nothing, Sion draw level! Clyne gives the ball away in midfield and Kouassi takes full advantage to send a lovely pass over the top for Assifuah. The Ghanaian chests the ball down well and manages to poke it between the legs of Mignolet to silence the home fans. That is their first real attack, but it is a moment Assifuah will never forget - he has scored at Anfield!

DISALLOWED GOAL! Liverpool think they have an immediate reply as Clyne gets forward looking to atone for his error. He is found by a pass inside from Lallana before in turn giving it to Ings. The striker is left with a simple finish from close range, but his celebrations are cut short by the linesman's flag.

Almost a chance for Sion at the other end as Liverpool don't defend a corner very well, with the ball being flicked on at the near post. Lacroix is in the mix, but the last touch appears to come off a Liverpool head before being collected by Mignolet.

Another rather nervy moment for Liverpool's defence as Toure's header is straight to Assifuah, who immediately pounces on it. Toure and Gomez combine to stop the goalscorer, but Assifuah is looking bright for the visitors at the moment.

Liverpool win a deep free kick in a crossing position that is played all the way to an unmarked Toure at the back post. He knocks it down into the area before the ball is dropped back to Ibe, but the winger's powerful strike is blocked by Konate.

Didier Tholot will be delighted with this opening half an hour. Liverpool have seen more of the ball and got that early goal, but they haven't exactly peppered the Sion goal with shots so far. For the visitors to have got back into this match is a big achievement after falling behind so early, and there have been signs that they could create a couple more chances here.

Liverpool find space down the right flank through Can, but his cross is cleared to the edge of the box where Allen is waiting. His first touch is poor, though, and his second is even worse as he puts the pass straight out of play.

CHANCE! Big chance for Liverpool! Lallana plays a lovely cross into the middle for Ings, who finds himself in plenty of space. It is a difficult one to control, however, and the striker can't get anything on it as it skims right across the area. Not the easiest one for Ings to take, but he should have done a lot better there.

Chance at the other end as a fine free kick finds Lacroix running on to it in space, but he glances his header wide of the target. It wouldn't have counted due to the linesman's flag being raised, but it is another warning shot for Liverpool.

Concern for Liverpool here as Ings goes down with a knock following a tackle by Lacroix, but it looks as though the striker will be fine to continue.

Sion are certainly holding their own here. Liverpool have had more of the ball, have created the better chances, but they aren't playing particularly well right now.

CHANCE! There is a lot of fuss made over a Liverpool free kick as the referee twice prevents them from taking it quickly and gets the spray can out, despite it being a long way from goal. Rossiter eventually floats the cross into the middle and Can finds himself in space, but his header from an angle lacks the power to really trouble the keeper.

Liverpool would really like a goal before half time here. Anfield is rather subdued at the moment after what has been a relatively uninspiring performance from the hosts so far.

You'd still expect Liverpool to go on and win this game, and on the balance of chances they probably should be ahead, but Sion will be delighted with this first half.

CHANCE! Another chance for Liverpool as Lallana and Ings combine really well to find Origi in a brilliant position, but he dithers over his finish and a defender gets a vital foot in to concede a corner.

The referee brings an end to the first half, it in truth it wasn't the best from a Liverpool point of view. They are being held by Swiss side Sion at the halfway stage of this Europa League clash having seen their early goal cancelled out.

It was Adam Lallana who opened the scoring after just four minutes, although there was a question over offside in the build-up. Lallana himself was coming back from an offside position when he flicked the ball on to Origi, before sprinting into the area for a return pass. That eventually arrived after Origi had reached the byline with a good, direct run and fed the ball back to Lallana, who neatly tucked it into the gaping goal.

Sion levelled things up in the 18th minute, however, as Clyne's loose pass was collected by Kouassi, who immediately lofted a fine pass over the defence to Assifuah, who chested the ball down before sliding it through the legs of Mignolet to stun the home fans.

The bulk of the other chances have gone the way of the hosts, as expected, but they haven't found a second goal thus far. Perhaps the best chance of the lot fell to Origi late in the half when Lallana and Ings combined to find the Belgian, but he took too long over his finish and the defender got back to get a foot in.

Ings had an opening in a similar position when Lallana curled a fine cross into the middle, but the ball bounced just in front of the striker and he couldn't control it with just the keeper to beat. Ings was also denied by Vanins just before Sion's equaliser having latched on to Allen's clever through-ball inside the box.

Chances for Sion at the other end have been relatively few and far between, but they have carried a lingering threat to Liverpool's defence, having a few sights of goal along the way. They look like they could have another big chance in them, so Liverpool will need to start being a little more prolific when they get into the final third. It hasn't been good enough from the hosts overall so far, though.

KICKOFF: Liverpool get us back underway for this second half, and the hosts have made a change at the break as Alberto Moreno replaces Clyne, which will see Ibe switch over to the right.

SAVE! Liverpool inject a bit of pace into the attack as the ball is played in down the left channel which Ings takes under his spell beautifully. The angle is very tight, however, and the striker can only really turn it into the danger area, and the referee rather nonchalantly pushes the ball behind.

OFF THE BAR! Guess who has almost just scored a bicycle kick? Kolo Toure, of all people, hooks the ball goalwards with an acrobatic effort from just inside the Sion area, and his effort loops up and onto the top of the crossbar. That would have been some way to take the lead again!

Zverotic has a rather speculative effort from range, and sure enough his strike is never troubling Mignolet as it flies a long way off target.

Can goes diving into a challenge from behind and sure enough gives away a free kick in a decent position for Sion. It is perhaps a little too far out to shoot from, but they could put Liverpool's defence under a bit more pressure here.

SAVE! Carlitos does in fact go for goal and it is a good strike, but Mignolet won't be beaten from there. He watches it all the way and makes a comfortable stop.

Speculative effort at the other end from Moreno who, after a decent move from the hosts, lashes an effort high and wide of the near post. That is a waste of a good position from the sub.

I wonder how long it will be before we see Coutinho here? This match is screaming for a spark of inspiration as it has all gone a little flat right now. Not much is happening for either side.

Good play again from Origi as he spins away from his man before showing a really good turn of pace to charge down the left. He tries to play a low ball into the area, but his cross is deflected behind for a corner.

Once again, the corner is straight into the arms of Vanins. Liverpool have made it far too easy for the Sion keeper to come and claim them so far.

Leave the bicycle kicks to Kolo, Danny. Ings is the latest to go for an acrobatic effort from the edge of the box, Rivaldo style, but his strike ends up comfortably wide of the target.

LIVERPOOL SUB: The hosts make their second change of the night as Philippe Coutinho is introduced in place of England's new boy Ings.

That change has seen Liverpool drop from a front two to Origi leading the line and Coutinho and Lallana operating in behind him. Those two are certainly able of creating a moment of magic, and that is sorely needed right now.

CHANCE! Huge chance for Liverpool to regain the lead! Allen wins the ball in midfield and immediately plays the ball through to Origi, who finds himself with only the keeper to beat. He delays his shot to take Lacroix out of the game, but his eventual drilled effort is saved by the keeper. Big chance for the Belgian, who really should have scored.

Liverpool only really have themselves to blame for the state of this match right now. They have had the chances to be clear of Sion going into the final 25 minutes, but they have simply not been clinical enough in front of goal.

CHANCE! Oh my word, Sion nearly set up a monumental shock. It is Assifuah, scorer of the goal, who comes close again as he holds off the defender with his back to goal, earning a yard before hitting a low drive on the turn that Mignolet has to get down really well to keep out.

CHANCE! Liverpool have a big chance at the other end as Can charges forward before leaving the ball for Coutinho, who plays a lovely weighted through-ball to Origi with the outside of his foot. Origi gets the slightest touch when trying to poke it into the bottom corner, but Vanins is the hero once again.

Can again gets forward from defence, as he loves to do, and this time he wins a free kick in a good position. Coutinho is standing over this one for Liverpool...

SAVE! It is a good effort from Coutinho, but much like Carlitos's effort at the other end, the keeper is across in good time to make a comfortable stop.

Sion are looking more and more dangerous in the final third now. Carlitos is the latest to cut inside and go for goal, but it is a simple stop for Mignolet.

CHANCE! This is end-to-end stuff right now! Lallana has a glorious chance for Liverpool having taken the ball brilliantly with another sumptuous first touch, but with plenty of the goal to aim at, he sees his shot saved by the feet of Vanins.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the night takes until the 76th minute, and it is Kouassi who gets it for a crunching challenge on Coutinho.

LIVERPOOL SUB: A third and final change for the home side sees Toure replaced by Mamadou Sakho, who also inherits the armband from the departing defender.

Coutinho whips a vicious free kick into the area that Can gets his head to glancing one narrowly wide of the far post. The flag is up, though, so it wouldn't have counted.

Just 10 minutes remain for Sion to hold out for what would be a famous point, then. They have ridden their luck at times in terms of Liverpool's lacklustre finishing, but it has been a very spirited performance from the visitors.

YELLOW CARD! Moreno becomes the first Liverpool player in the book for scything down Assifuah, who stays down after that challenge.

Tonight certainly hasn't gone like Liverpool would have expected, particularly after taking the lead so early. They have just seven minutes to spare some blushes ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby.

Things just aren't happening for Liverpool right now, and I wouldn't be too surprised to hear a smattering of boos at the final whistle if things stay the same. Their finishing has let them down most of all tonight, but their overall display has not been good enough either.

SION SUB: The visitors finally make their first change of the evening as Assifuah, riddled by cramp after a really good display, limps off to be replaced by Birama Ndoye.

The break is on for Sion, but Sakho cuts out the attempted pass forward and launches an attack for Liverpool. Coutinho picks the ball up on the left touchline before gliding past a couple of players on his way inside, but Lacroix blocks his shot.

SION SUB: Another change for the visitors as Konate, who has been quiet tonight, is replaced by Geofrey Bia.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.

There are indeed boos at the full-time whistle as Liverpool are held to a really disappointing 1-1 draw by Sion, who are well-placed after two games in Group B right now. The hosts took the lead nice and early through Lallana, but they failed to build on that and the visitors responded in the 18th minute through Assifuah's goal. That was how it stayed as the hosts squandered numerous chances and Sion hung on for a famous point.

That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for what was a disappointing evening from a Liverpool perspective as they are held to a draw by Sion. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction from Anfield. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!