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After openly criticising striker Mario Balotelli in the week, Brendan Rodgers has dropped the Italian to the bench as Rickie Lambert makes his first Premier League start for Liverpool.
Rodgers admitted that the former Manchester City and AC Milan striker needed to score more goals, and reemphasised the 'risk' the club took on bringing him to Anfield.
Daniel Sturridge, meanwhile, is not in the squad following a week of club v country squabbling with England boss Roy Hodgson .
Few eyebrows will be raised by Mamadou Sakho's exclusion from the Liverpool squad, after the French defender stormed out of Anfield ahead of last weekend's Merseyside derby having not been named in Rodgers' squad.
Glen Johnson does, however, return to the Liverpool bench, while West Brom striker Said Berahino leads the line for the Baggies fresh from his England call-up.
Speaking ahead of the match, Rodgers admitted that his side are struggling to replicate last season's devastating attacking threat.
"We don't look a threat on the break at the moment," conceded Rodgers. "We could argue that we don't even play in transition. We're getting no one in behind, no one breaking lines.
"Our team dynamic was dominating the game with the ball but also without the ball and without the ball means running and getting in behind people. We've done that for 18 months. We did it at Tottenham.
"Once we lose that movement and speed of Daniel Sturridge - and the link-up of other people within that - it has broken the dynamic a little for us."
Can Liverpool turn on the style this afternoon at Anfield? Follow all the action LIVE with Standard Sport.
Starting line-ups:
LIVERPOOL: Mignolet; Manquillo, Lovren, Skrtel, Moreno; Gerrard, Henderson; Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling; Lambert
SUBS: Jones, Toure, Johnson, Lucas, Markovic, Borini, Balotelli
WEST BROM: Foster, Gamboa, Lescott, Dawson, Pocognoli, Dorrans, Morrison, Gardner, Brunt, Sessegnon, Berahino
SUBS: Myhill, McAuley, Mulumbu, Blanco, Yacob, Baird, Samaras
