Brendan Rodgers reflects on his 18 months at LFC ahead of West Brom match

Brendan Rodgers expects Joe Allen to return to the ranks for the weekend clash at West Brom.

The reds will be watching on as the other Premier League sides do battle on Saturday, safe in the knowledge that with a current 3 point cushion in 4th place they will still be there before they kick off at The Hawthorns.

LFC are undefeated in the last 4 Premier League games, and after 23 games are still achieving the season target of an average of 2 points a game - a points return that has always guaranteed Champions League qualification.

West Brom were executed by a Luis Suarez hat-trick earlier this season at Anfield.  Rodgers took LFC to West Brom twice last season with mixed fortunes. In August it was the scene of his first ever LFC league game in charge - the reds suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat before a month later grabbing a 2-1 victory in the League Cup.

Brendan Rodgers needed no reminding of that first game in charge and told reporters his thoughts on the past 18 months since that game:

"We've grown. If I look back at my time here over the last 18 months, I look back at the first game we played against West Brom.

"It's ironic that we play them this weekend. Where we were at then, we had some talented players but we were very much an individual group.

"Over the course of 18 months, we've implemented a method to our play. We have become a team. We're understanding the game much better in terms of how we want to work and how we want to play.

This season has not been as impressive so far for West Brom who are only three points away from the relegation zone and have the joint lowest number of wins in the Premier League this season - a mere 4 victories from 23 matches.

They took part in a mid-week thriller at Villa Park but were eventually outdone by their midlands opponents who won through 4-3.

Rodgers added:

"My focus is only on us and respecting every opponent that we play. We go to West Brom, with a new manager they will be very keen to get that first win, so we know it will be a very difficult match for us.

"We'll be ready and prepared. We're coming off the back of an outstanding performance and we'll look to carry that on into the weekend."

Joe Allen wasn't risked for the Merseyside derby but the Liverpool boss believes he is now ready and available for selection:

"Joe Allen will be back, which is great news.

"He's looked very good in training and he's a very important player back in for us."

Glen Johnson is unavailable for selection, and the boss also pointed out slow progress in nursing Jose Enrique back to full fitness:

"It was 10 weeks yesterday since the operation and we hoped he'd be a little bit further on in his recovery. We just need to look at a strategy in terms of getting him back.

Mamadou Sakho and Daniel Agger are both unavailable so the four defenders who started against Everton are likely to line up again.

Rodgers wouldn't be drawn much on the potential signing of Yevhen Konoplyanka - merely acknowledging the club's interest in him and admitting that the mechanics of the deal are 'complicated'.