The England international’s deal expires at the end of this season and he is yet to agree an extension but insists he is relaxed about the situation

Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson insisted he is not worried about his contract status at the club.

Johnson is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2014-15 season and there are doubts as to whether Liverpool will offer the 30-year-old – one of the club’s highest earners since arriving in 2009 – a new deal.

The England international, who suffered a thigh injury during Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Premier League champions Manchester City on Monday, admits no talks have taken place over a new contract but insists he is not anxious about the situation.

“I’m very relaxed about my contract,” Johnson told The Liverpool Echo. “There are no talks going on with the club at the moment. There were minor talks towards the end of last season but nothing else.

“I’ve loved playing my football here from day one. I’m more than happy here. But obviously I can only talk to the club about it when they want to speak to me.”

Johnson is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club in January but is refusing to look too far ahead as he attempts to help Liverpool to Premier League glory this term.

“In January I could [talk to other clubs], but I’ll worry about that when January comes,” the former Chelsea full-back added. “At the minute I’m playing for Liverpool and I’m happy here. I’m more than willing to stay.

“I’ll just concentrate on things here week by week. The manager has picked me so far. That shows he wants me here.”

CL seedings for the group stage see last year’s winners among the front-runners, while the Serie A outfit promise a ‘group of death’ from their lowly place in Pot 4

The Champions League Group Stage draw will take place at 17:45CET on Thursday August 28 2014, LIVE right here on Goal.com. Here we discover just who will face whom as Europe’s premier club competition gets into full swing …

How it works

The 32 qualifiers have been divided into four pots based on the Uefa coefficients, which are in turn decided by a mixture of the team’s own performance in Europe over the past five seasons, as well as the strength of their country’s league.

The Champions League group stage comprises eight pools of four teams: consequently, a team from each pot is drawn and placed into one of the eight groups available. This is done by pot and not “one at a time”: that is to say, all the teams from pot one will be placed into a group, and then pot two, and so on down to the fourth and final pot.

There are some restrictions, though. Teams from the same national association cannot be drawn together, and even prior to that there will be two ‘sets’ of groups decided for the purpose of television rights. For example, the four teams from Spain cannot all be drawn in the same set.

Pots

The Champions League Group Stage pots for 2014-15 are as follows:

What to look out for

• The Group of Death: Just how hard can the Champions League be? Consider the strength of a group such as the following: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool and Roma … Or how about Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Ajax and Monaco? 
• Recent Reunions: Real Madrid proved to be too strong for Borussia Dortmund last season and may well relish a re-match against their German opponents. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain’s European adventure came to an end against Chelsea in 2013-14 and the Ligue 1 champions will be keen to get a shot at revenge.

The Liverpool boss says his new €20m man is in “very, very good condition” and is ready to make his debut at White Hart Lane on Sunday

Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Mario Balotelli will be in contention to make his Liverpool debut at Tottenham on Sunday.

The Italy striker joined the Merseyside club from AC Milan on Monday, but was not signed in time to feature in the 3-1 defeat against his former club Manchester City later that day.

Liverpool manager Rodgers, however, says he is preparing to hand Balotelli his first game in a Liverpool jersey against Tottenham on Sunday. 

“I think by the weekend [he’ll be ready to play],” he told the club’s official website.

“He’s been into pre-season and he’s played three 45-minute games. He might not be up to full match speed, but he’s looking fit.

“We’ve done some analysis on him. The medical and sports science team have worked with him already and he’s in very, very good condition.

“He’s in to work and he’ll be available for the squad for the weekend.”

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge believes Balotelli could become an “iconic” figure at Anfield.

He told the club’s official website: “He provides another option and we’ve got a lot of games this season, so Brendan has plenty of options now.

“The manager will have a plan. It could be Balotelli going through the middle with Daniel [Sturridge] playing off him or out wide, as he did to great effect last season.

“He could be phenomenal and he’s the type of player who will be endearing to the fans. He could be iconic.”