Key players
Wilson Isidor has scored four times in the top flight for Sunderland so far this season.
Dan Ballard, Brian Brobbey and Enzo Le Fee have each chipped in with two goals.
Granit Xhaka leads their team for assists in the Premier League with four.
Team news
Noah Sadiki has been declared fit for the game, despite suffering a blow to the face against Bournemouth.
Dennis Cirkin and Leo Hjelde are stepping up their returns from injury with minutes for the U21s side, with Aji Alese and Habib Diarra also among those to have been sidelined in recent weeks.
Previous meetings
The clubs are set to clash for the first time in any competition since January 2017, when they drew 2-2 on Wearside.
The last Anfield encounter was in November 2016. On that day, Liverpool prevailed 2-0 thanks to late goals from Divock Origi and James Milner (penalty).
What they said
Sunderland head coach Le Bris
“We worked hard to have the privilege to play this kind of game. It’s a great honour to be in that position, especially through a positive dynamic. So, (a) challenging situation, tough game, but I think we want to live this kind of experience.
“I think it’s another game in a really special place, that’s fair. But I think our players – even if we have a young team – now have good experience and they want to be competitive. Otherwise, we will be a spectator – and we don’t want to be a spectator. Liverpool will be strong, the place is impressive, but at the same time we want to be competitive.”
