Good afternoon! Brendan Rodgers is due to speak to the media in around 15 minutes' time ahead of Liverpool's trip to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Reds have won one and lost one so far this season, beating Southampton in the opening weekend before losing to Manchester City on Monday evening.

It's been a big 24 hours for Liverpool, as they learned yesterday that they will face Real Madrid in the group stage of the Champions League. Rodgers will surely be asked about the tie in his press briefing.

Earlier this afternoon, the club announced that Jordan Ibe is to head out on loan, spending the season with Derby County in the Championship. In terms of new players, it will be interesting to hear whether Mario Balotelli will be ready to make his debut this week.

Heading into the weekend, Liverpool sit ninth in the table. Their opponents top the league on goal difference.

Another player who could feature this weekend is Adam Lallana. The former Southampton man is yet to make his competitive debut for the team, but has been training this week.

While we're still waiting for the manager, let's take a look at Liverpool's upcoming games. The team will be optimistic of picking up points in their next two matches against Aston Villa and West Ham, but face the first Merseyside derby of the season at the end of the month.

Don't forget, you'll be able to follow live coverage of this, and every other Premier League match, on Sports Mole this weekend.

As well as looking ahead to this match, Rodgers will surely also be speaking about the transfer deadline. Liverpool have been extremely busy this window, and still have a couple of days to complete any business.

So Rodgers was due to speak to reporters at 2pm, but he's obviously running a bit late. The Ibe loan was announced just before the press conference was due to begin, so it's possible that that has delayed him.

Brendan Rodgers is now ready to speak to the reporters at Melwood, so let's see what he has to say...

Starting with the Champions League draw, Rodgers says: "It's great that Liverpool are back in their rightful place, back in the Champions League. Real Madrid and Liverpool are two very special clubs - 15 times winners between them. It's great for the fans and city to have Champions League back."

The manager is asked how Balotelli has settled in his first week at the club: "Mario's fine, he's settled in very well and looked fantastic in training. Focus very much on his football. He's a good lad."

Turning his attention to Sunday's game, Rodgers says: "Even the 5-0 win at Spurs last season we had to work for. Our organisation was at a high level, we expect a hard game this Sunday."

Several of the club's defenders are carrying injuries, and Rodgers reveals that not all of them will be ready to play: "Moreno has been recovering well this week. Johnson's thigh problem could be hard for him to play. Skrtel? We'll see."

Rodgers believes that his side will bounce back well from their Monday night defeat: "I analysed the Man City game and we played well, but they had the cutting edge at their attacking end of the field. If you look at our stats since I've been here, we've been good at bouncing back from bad results. We're not used to losing, without sounding arrogant. We analyse everything from a coaching perspective after, we'll take positives."

Talking about the club's new signings, Rodgers believes: "We were small in strength and depth last season, but we've brought in players this summer. We've now got quality that can challenge."

Asked more about Balotelli, Rodgers reveals: "Balotelli is a member of the team, he's top quality, a class act. He's versatile, he's settled in well. It's not the Mario Balotelli show. He's talented, but he's got a lot of work to do. The star of this team is simply the team."

Attention turns to Monday's transfer deadline. The manager says: "There's some players who know they'll have very limited game time if they choose to stay past Monday's transfer deadline. Our situation is different to Spurs' last season. Irrespective of Luis Suarez staying or going, we had to strengthen in numbers."

Turning back to which players will be available for the trip to White Hart Lane, Rodgers reveals: "Jon Flanagan's been unfortunate with a number of injuries, it's not been great. I want him to be an important member of our squad. We hope Jon will be back soon and he deserves a new deal. Adam Lallana is in this weekend's squad, he's looked good in training but is short of match fitness. Jose Enrique looks very strong and fit in training, so we'll see how he does."

After this weekend, the Premier League will embark on a two-week break for the internationals. When asked about the break, Rodgers tells reporters: "The international break doesn't bother me. It's not something I can control so I don't worry about it."

That's all from Rodgers this week, but join us again on Sunday to see how Liverpool get on at White Hart Lane. Also, stick around this afternoon, as we'll have live coverage from Louis van Gaal's Manchester United press conference. Thanks for joining me this afternoon, goodbye.