Gerrard and Glen boost for Reds

The duo missed last weekend's Anfield defeat to Arsenal due to injury, but will hope to come into contention for the Reds' journey to the Stadium of Light.

Dalglish told his pre-match press conference: "Steven and Glen are back in training today, so we'll see how they are."

Asked whether the return of Gerrard will provide Liverpool with a boost, the boss replied: "I wouldn't restrict it to just Stevie - it's a good boost for us to have anybody back, Steven included.

"Having Glen back as well, who was doing fantastic, will be good for us.

"We'll see how they do in training and judge it from there."

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Liverpool will journey to the north east aiming to bounce back to winning ways following the harsh 2-1 reversal to the Gunners.

Although that result was the Reds' first defeat at Anfield this season, they have drawn eight and won four of their other matches on home soil so far in 2011-12, while on the road they've notched up six victories.

However, Dalglish believes such statistics do not tell the whole story of his side's Barclays Premier League campaign - and he insists Liverpool don't alter their approach to matches regardless of whether they're at home or away.

He said: "We don't change too much - we always go into a game wanting to win it. At home we've put in some really promising performances and not got the results we've deserved. Maybe away from home, we've had better results but the performances may not have been as pleasing on the eye.

"We don't change too much wherever we play. We always want to win the game and we'll always put a team out we think is going to win."

Sunderland will head into Saturday's 3pm kick-off on the back of securing a hard-fought point against Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby last Sunday.

However, the Black Cats will be without captain Lee Cattermole and top scorer Stephane Sessegnon after the pair received red cards at the Sports Direct Arena.

But while Dalglish acknowledges the derby contest may have taken something out of Sunderland, he's convinced they'll be ready to go again when Liverpool come to town.

He said: "Obviously the two suspensions are done and dusted, so they'll not be playing. I don't know what injuries they've picked up.

"The Newcastle v Sunderland game was an emotive game, it was very competitive and you would have been disappointed if it hadn't turned out like that.

"I don't know how much it will have taken out of them or where they stand, but I'm sure they'll brush themselves down and get themselves prepared for us on Saturday. It's not as big as the north-east derby, but it's a big game."

He added: "They (derbies) are brilliant games, and we have got one to look forward to on Tuesday. They are fantastic to play in.

"It was a big occasion for them - two teams who were fully committed to trying to get a victory. At the end of the day, the draw was an honourable result."

The arrival of new manager Martin O'Neill in December revitalised Sunderland's campaign and any early-season relegation fears have since been eased with the Irishman steering them into 12^th position heading into the weekend.

"It was a surprise to see Steve Bruce get the sack, but obviously you get the sack when results aren't great," said Dalglish.

"Martin hasn't brought in too many players to change that - it's the same players playing with a different attitude and more commitment.

"They've done very well since he went in there and made themselves very difficult to beat."

Meanwhile, journalists asked Dalglish whether he was anticipating a reaction from his players following their Arsenal disappointment.

He replied: "There was a reaction right after the game in the dressing room. We knew we'd played really well and never got what we deserved from the game.

"We just need to continue in the same vein. It was a fantastic reaction to the Carling Cup victory from the players and they played really well.

"If we continue to maintain that level, we'll not lose too many games. Where that takes us, we'll judge at the end of the season."