A late Glen Johnson header saw the unconvincing Reds edge past Stoke City on Saturday and another three much-needed points are on offer against the Premier League’s bottom side

Brendan Rodgers wants Liverpool to build on their recent Premier League upturn when they travel to struggling Leicester City on Tuesday.

After a difficult start to the campaign, Liverpool looked set to finish November without a win thanks to a run of three consecutive Premier League defeats.

Losses to Newcastle, Chelsea and Crystal Palace led to much discussion over Rodgers’ future with a club he came close to leading to the title last season.

However, Glen Johnson’s late goal against Stoke City at Anfield on Saturday ensured a hard-fought 1-0 victory to end Liverpool’s rocky domestic run.

Captain Steven Gerrard was surprisingly benched for that game – which fell on the 16th anniversary of his Liverpool debut – and will be itching for a recall, though Rodgers has fitness concerns over Mario Balotelli (groin), Mamadou Sakho (thigh) and Suso (groin).

The visitors to the King Power Stadium could propel themselves back into European contention with a win and Rodgers is eager to sustain their steady momentum.

“We’re in a moment now where we need to get results and we need to obviously improve our style of play but we need to have the confidence in the team,” he explained after the win over Stoke.

“We’re slowly, in the last couple of games, getting back to a confident level. You can’t play perfect football [all the time] and for us, the moment that we’re in, we’ve shown wonderful character this week.
    
“I was very satisfied and my overriding feeling was that I was delighted for the players because they’re a wonderful group.”

Nigel Pearson’s Leicester have also endured a torrid November, collecting just one point from a possible 12, with Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to fellow strugglers QPR sending them bottom of the pile.

Last season’s Championship winners have registered just two points since their impressive 5-3 win over Manchester United in September, with Charlie Austin’s header at the weekend denying City a draw.

While Pearson took the positives from his side’s creativity and attacking threat at Loftus Road, he was also left to bemoan sloppy defensive mistakes and called on his side to take charge of arresting their decline in form.

“The reality is we’re not winning enough games at the moment and you could look at a lot of other sides in the division at the minute who will probably say exactly the same thing,” he explained.

“It’s not about talking about it, it’s about going out there and doing it. There’s only ourselves that can rectify our own results.

“[Against QPR] we were very positive and created chances but still couldn’t win the game. That’s frustrating for us all and I feel for the players because of that.”

Dean Hammond (calf) is ruled out for Leicester, with Matt Upson still gaining match sharpness having recently returned to first-team training following an ankle problem.

The Liverpool star was left out of the starting XI for the clash with Stoke City on Saturday but insists he has not fallen out with the Northern Irishman despite contrary reports

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has labelled suggestions of a rift between him and manager Brendan Rodgers as “nonsense”.

Gerrard was left out of the Reds’ starting XI for the first time in the Premier League this season for Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Stoke City.

The 34-year-old’s recent performances had attracted criticism from certain quarters, with Liverpool having gone five games without a win in all competitions before the hard-fought success against Stoke.

Saturday’s fixture marked the 16th anniversary of Gerrard’s first-team debut for Liverpool, and various reports had suggested that he was unhappy with Rodgers for omitting him.

However, the former England skipper took to social media on Sunday to rubbish such speculation.

Posting on his official Instagram account, with an accompanying photo of himself and Rodgers, Gerrard wrote: “Just to set the record straight talk of a fall out between us 2 is NONSENSE…have a nice Sunday #together #solid #ynwa.”

Gerrard’s future at Anfield remains uncertain, however, with Rodgers telling his post-Stoke media conference that there has been no movement on negotiations over a contract extension for his skipper – whose current deal expires at the end of this season.

“There’s no update I am aware of – I think the club is talking with Steven’s representatives,” said the Northern Irishman.

The Spaniard struck the post and worried Simon Mignolet before Glen Johnson won the match for the hosts and his manager believes he was the best player on the pitch

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes took heart from Bojan Krkic’s performance in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

The Spaniard struck the post and forced an impressive save from Simon Mignolet, only for Stoke to be undone by a late Glen Johnson header.

Stoke remain without a win at Anfield since 1959 but Hughes was pleased with the showing of former Barcelona man Bojan – a summer signing from the Catalan giants.

“We feel a little bit disappointed because we put a huge effort in,” Hughes explained.

“Our record here over the years has not been great so we all feel it was a big opportunity to wipe the slate clean in that regard and get a positive result.

“In the first half, Liverpool created very little to be perfectly honest and I thought we were comfortable and able to deal with anything they threw at us. 

“In the second, it became a bit more open because we were more encouraged and were looking for a winner ourselves.”

Hughes – who saw Steven Sidwell limp off in the first half before his replacement Glenn Whelan suffered a calf problem – added: “The outstanding player on the day for me was Bojan.

“[I was] really pleased with what he produced but unfortunately he hit the post and an outstanding volley at the end, which needed to be dealt with.

“[I was] pleased with his performance but just felt it was a little bit harsh on us to lose the game today.

“I felt we needed to take something because I think it’s what our performance deserved.”