Happy Saturday everyone! We have another round of Premier League fixtures in store for you today. In total there are six fixtures in the calendar, with three of the top four - Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all in action. Right here we will be bringing you all the action from Anfield as Liverpool go head to head with Sunderland.

It has been a great start to the season for Jurgen Klopp and his men as they are unbeaten in their last 10 fixtures and have lost just once, which was a 2-0 defeat to Burnley in August. At this stage of the campaign, Liverpool are in contention for the Premier League title as they sit just one point behind leaders Chelsea. It's tight at the top, though, as just three points separate first from fourth.

The Reds may be in strong form, but they are facing a Sunderland side full of renewed confidence after they ended a winless run of 10 league games to grab back-to-back wins against Bournemouth and Hull City. David Moyes's side still have a long way to go as they remain in the relegation zone, three points from safety, but considering the form that they are in, the Black Cats will go to Anfield thinking that they can nick a result.

I'm sure you're all eagerly waiting for the lineups. Well, lucky for you, I have them right here! We'll begin with the hosts...

LIVERPOOL XI: Karius; Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Milner; Henderson, Can, Wijnaldum; Coutinho, Mane, Firmino
Subs: Mignolet, Klavan, Moreno, Lucas, Ejaria, Origi, Woodburn

SUNDERLAND XI: Pickford; Jones, O'Shea, Kone, Van Aanholt; Denayer, NDong, Pienaar, Watmore; Anichebe, Defoe
Subs: Mannone, Love, Januzaj, Manquillo, Khazri, Gooch, Larsson

Liverpool are unchanged from the team that drew 0-0 with Southampton last weekend. There is no Daniel Sturridge in the squad today as he is nursing a calf injury. Seventeen-year-old Ben Woodburn has replaced the striker on the bench. Unfortunately for the Reds, Adam Lallana remains on the sidelines with a groin injury.

As for Sunderland, David Moyes has made two enforced changes. John O'Shea comes into the defence to replace the suspended Papy Djilobodji, while Steven Pienaar has come into the fray while Paddy McNair drops out after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

You'll notice that some of the players' boots will have rainbow laces in support of Stonewall's campaign to tackle homophobia against LGBT footballers and fans.

First things first, we cannot discuss Liverpool and not bring up the big announcement made by their former captain Steven Gerrard. The midfielder, who made 710 appearances and scored 186 goals during a 17-year career at Anfield has retired from professional football at the age of 36. The Merseyside-born player spent the last 18 months of his career in the United States at MLS outfit Los Angeles Galaxy, and he has decided that now is the time to hang up his boots.

Gerrard is a legend in the red half of Merseyside having won eight trophies, including two FA Cups and the Champions League, and there are already rumours that the midfielder could eventually return to the club in a coaching capacity. Management is an option for the former England international as he spoke to MK Dons about becoming their new boss, but ultimately turned down the offer because he felt it was too early for him to take on such a big role.

When Klopp was asked about a potential return for Gerrard, the German coach said that the "door is always open" to the former skipper. The ex-footballer's next steps are yet to be decided, but he has received plenty of plaudits from the football world. Liverpool paid their own tribute to their former talisman.

Liverpool no longer have Gerrard's influence on the pitch, but the current crop of stars are doing just fine! The Reds have won eight of their 12 league games this season and they are also the league's top scorers with 30 goals. As well as flying high in the top flight, Liverpool will face Leeds United in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup next Tuesday.

The impressive aspect of Liverpool at the moment is that they are playing like a team. Philippe Coutinho is widely regarded as the club's star player, but all of them have embraced Klopp's system and there is a sense of togetherness as opposed to standout quality from individuals. Even James Milner's switch to an unfamiliar role as left-back has been working out well for the team.

The ex-England international has been moved around a lot during his career. He began as a traditional winger, but has also had stints in the middle of the park, and now he works along the flanks in a full-back/wing-back role. It was clear that Milner was not a huge fan of being handed the position, but Klopp deemed him a better option than Alberto Moreno, and so far, the manager is being proved right.

So much so, Milner hopes that he can keep the spot and prevent Klopp from dipping into the transfer market in January to buy a new left-back. Earlier this week Milner was quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying:

"It is down to me to make sure they don't buy a left-back. [Klopp] doesn't owe me anything. I am a Liverpool player, he is the manager, he picks the best team to win and it is my job to make sure that what is best for Liverpool is me.

"You read a lot about players not being honourable and loyal, but clubs are not loyal to players either. But we know what business it is."

As you can tell it has all been rosy in the garden for Liverpool as they are well within a shout of the title at this stage, but their three-game winning run came to an end at Southampton last weekend. On November 6, the Reds thumped Watford 6-1 at Anfield, with Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum getting on the scoresheet. The following international break seemed to take the wind out of Liverpool's sails as they were a far cry from their prolific self at St Mary's.

Klopp's side dominated the ball as they had 65% possession and they also created the most chances - 15 in total - but only two of those shots were on target. Southampton really were there for the taking as they failed to register one shot on target despite being the home team. Firmino was left to rue the sitter that he missed, and in the end the game ended in a goalless draw. The positive for Liverpool, though, was that they kept their first clean sheet in 12 league away games.

In just four games this season Liverpool have scored fewer than one goal, and you would expect them to get back to scoring ways this afternoon given that they are performing in front of a home crowd. They also have the benefit of getting back into the swing of Klopp's intense training after spending close to two weeks with their international teams.

DID YOU KNOW? Liverpool are unbeaten at home since February 6. They have gone 13 league games without suffering defeat at Anfield. They also have nine more points on the board compared to this time in the 2015-16 campaign. Only Watford have shown better improvement having 10 points more than last season at this stage.

It is all rather positive right now, but Klopp is wary of the potential banana skin coming their way. Sunderland are in the midst of a revival having won two league games on the trot. In his pre-match press conference he told reporters:

"We won't underestimate them. If one person does in the stadium, it's the first mistake we make. We've watched a lot their games in the last week, and you can see that even when they lost the games at the beginning of the season it was never a clear result - really unlucky.

"Maybe they played better than against Hull and Bournemouth, but they won those games. Sunderland is a great challenge."

Klopp would be right not to underestimate David Moyes's team as they seem to have ended a torrid spell, which saw them go 10 games without a win. They lost eight of them and drew two, but they are on the up, and their attacking players in particular are shining through. Jermain Defoe reached a landmark at the Stadium of Light last weekend by scoring his 150th Premier League goal.

The former Tottenham Hotspur forward netted his second in as many games as the Black Cats went on to claim a convincing 3-0 victory over Hull. Before the international break the team earned their first win of the campaign by coming from a goal down to claim a 2-1 triumph over Sunderland. Defoe and his strike partner Victor Anichebe scored on the day.

Against Hull, Anichebe also struck twice, but Moyes has tried to play down the hype surrounding the Nigerian, who joined Sunderland on a free transfer in the summer after being released by West Bromwich Albion.

"We've just got to be careful - we've won two games with Victor coming into the team and we also played well at Southampton and should still be in the cup," Sky Sports News quotes Moyes as saying.

"But let's put it into context - he's not a £20million centre-forward. We've got a centre-forward who I believe in and I know what he is capable of but there will be games when he is on top form and games when he is not."

Another positive from the Hull result was that it was Sunderland's first clean sheet in the top flight this season, and their first since May. On the negative side, the club have lost two players to red cards in the past two games. Steven Pienaar was sent off against Bournemouth for a second yellow and Papy Djilobodji suffered the same fate against Hull.

Moyes pretty much gave away Sunderland's game plan against Liverpool in his pre-match press conference, stating that his team will go to Anfield to "make it difficult" for their opponents. He said that visiting teams "park the double-decker bus" in a bid to thwart the Reds' free-flowing attacking play, and it seems as though they will be doing the same. With Defoe and Anichebe in good form, they will pose a very big threat on the counter-attack this afternoon. We saw those tactics work well when Burnley employed them at Turf Moor. They earned a 2-0 win over Liverpool.

STATS! Not since April and May in 2014 have Sunderland won three Premier League games in a row. In fact, they have not won away matches consecutively since that time. We mentioned Defoe's threat earlier, and to support that, the striker is third behind Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane in having scored the most league goals in 2016. He currently has 18 to his name.

HEAD TO HEAD: At Anfield, Liverpool are dominant against Sunderland having not lost any of their last 17 league meetings at the Merseyside ground. You have to go back to October 1983 to find the last time that Liverpool lost a home to the Black Cats. Sunderland's most recent win over Liverpool was in March 2012 when they earned a 1-0 win at home.

Both teams are out on the Anfield pitch and we are just moments away from kickoff! How do you see this one going? Sunderland have found form, but Liverpool should get the job done at home.

KICKOFF! We are underway on Merseyside! Anthony Taylor is the referee for this one.

As expected, Liverpool have stormed out of the blocks, with Sunderland sitting back. Clyne gets the ball on the right before delivering a cross, which gets cleared before Milner wins a corner. It's drifted in by Coutinho, who tries to curl the ball past Pickford, but the goalkeeper collects.

At the other end, Wijnaldum gives away a foul close to the corner flag after bringing down Watmore. Van Aanholt takes the set piece, but it's not the best of efforts as Matip initially clears. The ball drops back into Watmore's path, but his attempt gets blocked.

The home side have started on the front foot, but Sunderland are not sitting as deep as initially expected. Considering their recent back-to-back wins, they may feel that they can nick something here.

Coutinho charges past two opponents before running into Kone. Sunderland do not have the ball for long, though, as Clyne picks out Firmino. The Brazilian turns away from his marker before shooting from the edge of the box, but it fails to trouble Pickford as the keeper gathers with ease.

Clyne has seen plenty of the ball in these early stages. On this occasion he charges down the right in an attempt to latch onto Henderson's perfectly-weighted pass, but he fails to reach it.

Liverpool are putting pressure on their opponents by working the ball around the box, but Sunderland are doing well to keep the attacking trio of Firmino, Coutinho and Mane at bay.

After failing to find a way through on the floor, Henderson delivers a long ball into the box, but O'Shea gets there first to clear.

Pienaar gives away a corner after a tussle with Mane. Once again, Coutinho delivers from the flag, but Denayer meets the ball to head away.

SAVE! Coutinho cuts inside from the left before passing to Wijnaldum, who turns away before drilling a shot towards the bottom corner, but Pickford drops down to make the stop.

At the other end, Defoe, who has scored in his last two games, tries his luck from distance, but Matip blocks the striker's 25-yard shot.

SAVE! Sunderland come close to finding the breakthrough! Jones's high ball causes Liverpool's back line to hesitate. Pienaar gets on the end of it before attempting a scissor kick from close range, but Karius blocks.

Can delivers a diagonal ball into the danger area, but it's easily caught by Pickford. Liverpool have set the tempo, but they are yet to really trouble the keeper.

Henderson lofts the ball over the top trying to find Coutinho, but the Brazilian is unable to reach it and once again, Pickford comfortably collects.

Firmino goes it alone with a 25-yard shot after turning away from his marker, but the ball soars over the crossbar. Klopp is shouting from the touchline urging his players to move the ball quicker.

Oh dear, Karius has just given away a corner from a goal kick... Yes, really! Van Aanholt takes the set piece and Can clears. Mane then tries to lead a counter-attack before playing the ball through Sunderland's defence, but none of his teammates managed to get in behind and the move breaks down.

Henderson wins the ball back before playing in Clyne down the right-hand side. He squares to Wijnaldum, who takes a touch and whacks the ball on the volley, but his effort goes wide.

It's not quite working for Liverpool at the moment. Coutinho is not getting much space, with Sunderland defending well in their own half. Moyes will be the happier of the two managers.

Bad news for Liverpool as Coutinho goes down with pain in his foot. The Brazilian appeared to catch NDong's boot. The stretcher is coming on.

A brace has been put on Coutinho's ankle and Origi is getting himself ready to come on. The Brazilian gets an ovation from the fans as he's stretched off. Not what Liverpool needed!

LIVERPOOL SUB: Here he comes... Origi replaces the injured Coutinho. Remember, there's no Sturridge today as the striker is nursing a calf problem.

CHANCE! Origi wins a free kick after being fouled by Pienaar and it's in a decent position. Henderson delivers it towards the far post to find Lovren in space. The defender tries to hit it across goal but the ball drops a yard wide. Should have done much better there!

The hosts get a corner, which is swung in by Henderson, who's aiming for the near post. Can tries to flick it on but he ends up sending the ball behind the goal.

Origi lifts the ball into the box from the edge of the area, but O'Shea and Kone do well to clear. This performance is a far cry from the 6-1 romp over Watford at Anfield a few weeks ago.

Firmino crosses to Can at the back post. The midfielder heads towards goal, but there's not much pace on the ball and it ends up wide of the target.

Lovren shoots from distance by unleashing an attempt from 30 yards out, but it goes wide. The strike was enough to cause concern for Pickford, though, as he dived for it.

SAVE! Mane cuts inside from the right before drilling a shot with his left foot, but Pickford makes the stop.

Neither Liverpool nor Sunderland have broken the deadlock yet at Anfield as the teams return to the dressing rooms goalless after the first half. David Moyes will be the happier of the two managers as his team have so far been able to prevent the Reds from finding a way through. Jurgen Klopp was also dealt a blow just after the half-hour mark when Philippe Coutinho was stretchered off with a brace on his right ankle. Can Liverpool recover from losing one of their star players or will Sunderland take advantage? We'll find out in the second half!

RESTART! We are back underway at Anfield! Liverpool need to win if they want to keep up the pressure at the top of the table, but if Sunderland claim victory, they will record three Premier League wins on the trot for the first time since 2014.

Like the first half, Liverpool are dominating the ball. Origi breaks away from his marker after Pienaar loses the ball, but Kone tracks back to cover. Sunderland fail to keep the ball as Milner whips a cross into the area but Anichebe clears.

Good defending from O'Shea as he forces Clyne out after the Liverpool full-back broke free down the right-hand side.

Mane tries to make things happen as he charges into the box before unleashing a shot with his left foot, but he sends it straight to Pickford.

CHANCE! Mane is involved again as he lobs a pass to Can, who then flicks it up and sends it over the Sunderland defence. Wijnaldum gets on the end of the ball, but drags his right-footed volley wide. Milner was inches away from a tap-in.

Firmino shows lovely skill as he gets away from Ndong and Kone, but O'Shea stops the Brazilian in his tracks before he can get a shot away from the edge of the area.

The visitors counter-attack with three versus three, but Can cuts out Van Aanholt's poor pass to Watmore.

SAVE! Firmino breaks away from Pienaar before drilling the ball towards the bottom corner, but Pickford is there again to make a stop.

BOOKING! The first yellow card comes from Anthony Taylor's pocket, and it goes to Kone for bringing down Origi from behind.

The Anfield crowd are getting impatient and Klopp isn't happy with them! He is waving his hands up in the air while walking down the touchline to encourage the fans to support the team.

CHANCE! Sunderland initially clear Firmino's cross into the box, but it falls to Can, who unleashes a half-volley which glides just inches from the post.

BOOKINGS! Lovren receives a caution after pulling Van Aanholt's shirt. A few minutes ago, O'Shea also got a yellow for bringing down Origi.

CHANCE! Sunderland come very close to scoring! Anichebe plays in Watmore and Karius blocks. The danger is not cleared though as the ball is hit back into the box and the Reds scramble it away, just about!

Firmino wins a free kick 20 yards from the edge of the area, but it's wasted by Henderson as he sends the ball over the crossbar.

CHANCE! Liverpool keep coming, but they keep getting denied! The hosts win a corner and it's whipped in by Henderson. The ball drops to Mane at the far post, but the attacker's attempt gets blocked.

Liverpool's pressure finally pays off as Origi cuts inside, looks as though he is about to cross but goes for glory with a strike at the far corner. This time, Pickford fails to stop it nestling into the net.

SUNDERLAND SUBS: Moyes makes two changes as Pienaar and Watmore make way for Januzaj and Gooch.

CHANCE! Liverpool come close to a second as Can hits a thumping shot from inside the final third. It picks up a deflection off Van Aanholt along the way and almost ends up in the corner of the net, but it narrowly misses the target.

LIVERPOOL SUB: Klopp makes his second change of the match as Lucas replaces Firmino.

A stonewall penalty for Liverpool as Ndong slams into Mane after the attacking charged into the box. No complaints from Sunderland.

Easy for Milner as he comfortably nestles the ball into the back of the net after sending Pickford the wrong way.

Liverpool fans will breathe a sigh of relief after that! Sunderland did well to keep the Reds at bay for 75 minutes, but Divock Origi's goal changed the face of the game. James Milner wrapped it up with a penalty one minute into added time to give Liverpool a 2-0 victory. Jurgen Klopp's side move back to the top of the Premier League table for the time being, while Sunderland remain in the relegation zone. Thank you for joining us, and until next time, goodbye!