Blog: Why returning stars provide optimism for run-in

Defeat is never easy to take, especially in the circumstances with which it came on Tuesday night at Upton Park.

West Ham United's Angelo Ogbonna sent us out of the FA Cup with a header in the final seconds of extra-time, and it came from a dubiously-awarded free-kick, too. After a positive performance, it wasn't the ideal end result and not exactly what Liverpool deserved either.

But Jürgen Klopp can point to a number of encouraging factors to come out of the tie. There may no longer be FA Cup football for the supporters to look forward to, but what we were treated to was a host of quality performances from first-team stars who've spent large chunks of the last few months on the treatment table.

Philippe Coutinho marked his return to the starting line-up with a goal typical of the man. Cleverly anticipating a gap beneath the Hammers' wall for an early second-half free-kick, the diminutive Brazilian slickly struck a daisy-cutter of an effort beneath the defence's feet and into the bottom corner. It's a pleasure to have Coutinho on the mend.

Divock Origi - who has impressed in spells since joining permanently - featured from the bench, while a host of young players gave great accounts of themselves at one of the most notoriously difficult grounds in the country. Another man who did the same thing is a little more familiar with first-team affairs, though.

And didn't Daniel Sturridge look lively? If there's any positive to take from our last outing, it's the performance of the England striker. He too featured as a substitute, but showed barely any signs of ring-rust and could, on another day, have swung the tie in Liverpool's favour on the scoreboard.

It's certainly encouraging to see him back in contention, and fingers crossed that the injury problems that have gotten the better of our main man for so long have now finally been put behind him. Once he's ready for a first-team run, it'll undoubtedly add a much-needed dimension to our attack.

His return comes at a good time, too. While Klopp stopped short of saying Sturridge would be fighting fit for the Capital One Cup final at the end of the month, the forward will certainly have a number of weeks and a number of games in which to achieve full match sharpness. Manchester City await at Wembley on February 28.

Talking of matches in the lead-up to the cup final, however, bottom-of-the-table Aston Villa provide our next opposition. But Sunday afternoon at Villa Park will be much more difficult a challenge than many had previously anticipated.

At the halfway point of the season, Villa's hopes of surviving another year in the Premier League looked slim-to-none. But their form has picked up. And just one defeat in their last five games has put them right back in with a legitimate chance of escaping their current predicament.

Being just eight points off safety, a path out of the bottom three looks as likely as it's looked for most of the season for them at the moment. It's important they're not taken lightly.

Recent form sides with us, though, as Liverpool have won five of their last seven league matches at Villa Park - the most recent of which was a 2-0 victory on their ground in January 2015. A win in the next encounter is as valuable to us as it is to the hosts.

With a squad previously decimated by injury now slowly coming back together and a cup final on the horizon, it's time to believe we can start to build some momentum again.

For more Liverpool fan views or to join the conversation, visit www.90min.com.