Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Reading.
Brendan Rodgers's side are still seeking that elusive first home win of the season, but today's opponents have yet to record a Premier League victory since their return to the top flight.
Liverpool currently sit just three points above the relegation zone, but can move towards the top half of the table with a win today.
Brian McDermott's Reading, currently occupying 18th place, can move out of the bottom three with a victory at Anfield.
5pmThat's all from me here today. You can find our report on the full 90 minutes here. Be sure to join Sports Mole for the Merseyside derby next week!
4.51pmSo Liverpool get their first Premier League win at Anfield, and they deserved it. They had enough chances to win three games there, despite living dangerously in the second half.
93 minsFULL-TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Reading
92 minsJohnson is penalised late on and Reading win a free kick. Didn't appear to be too much wrong with that tackle from where I'm sitting.
91 minsWe're into the first of three minutes stoppage time.
91 minsMore ironic cheers as Suarez wins a free kick. He was caught by Mariappa, who is booked.
89 minsJason Roberts replaced Danny Guthrie for Reading on 83 minutes.
85 minsLiverpool substitution: Henderson on for Sterling.
79 minsChance! Another chance falls to Reading's McCleary, who scuffs his shot and puts it wide for a goal kick.
76 mins76 mins Jose Enrique tees up Suarez, but the Uruguayan mis-hits his shot and it ends up in the stand.
74 minsA sub for either side here: Le Fondre on for Pogrebnyak (Reading) and Jose Enrique on for Suso (Liverpool).
73 minsReading continue to ask more questions of the Liverpool back four. They swing in a corner, which is punched away by Jones.
70 minsChance! Good save from McCarthy at his near post to deny Johnson. Excellent defending from Reading denies Liverpool a follow-up.
67 minsChance! The ball is struck across goal by Gerrard, forcing McCarthy into a finger tips save. That could have crept in at the far post!
63 minsLiverpool substitution: Shelvey on for Sahin.
63 minsThere's more belief in Reading's game now. They are growing in confidence and starting to attack. Liverpool need to kill them off or they could very easily get something out of this one.
61 minsThe visitors press again. McAnuff has another crack but his deflected shot falls comfortably for Jones to scoop up.
59 minsChance! Reading threaten through McAnuff, who curles a shot towards goal from outside the box, forcing a good save from Jones.
57 minsAgger is cautioned for a foul on Pogrebnyak. He can have no complaints about that one.
53 minsChance! Reading's best chance of the game falls to McCleary. He goes one-on-one with Jones, has all the time in the world, but can't find a way past the keeper!
50 minsJohnson has a couple of half-chances. The first is blocked by Mariappa and his second flies over the bar.
48 minsGuthrie sends a free kick sailing over the crossbar. Wasteful play from him.
46 minsChance! Sterling is lined up by Suarez once again, but directs his shot straight at McCarthy, who parries it. Reading clear the danger.
46 minsWe're back under way here. Suarez hobbles back on after that challenge with Gorkss at the end of the first half.
3.50pmReading have defended well enough, but rarely ventured into the final third. On the rare occasion that they did, the Royals looked vulnerable to the Liverpool counter-attack. It's difficult to see how they will claw their way back into this, even though the deficit is only one goal.
3.48pmAn impressive display from Liverpool in the first half. They has plenty of possession, played a decent passing game, and crafted a good goal.
47 minsAnd there goes the half-time whistle.
47 minsGorkss goes in hard on Suarez, who goes down appealing for a foul as usual. The ref ignores his protests, but the Uruguayan looks to have picked up a dead leg there. He will hobble off at half-time.
45 minsTwo minutes stoppage time to be played.
45 minsChance! Gerrard unleashes Sterling, who finds Johnson in the box. The defender goes for goal, forcing McCarthy to tip it over the bar. Johnson should have done better there. His effort was straight at the keeper.
41 minsHalf-chance for Reading as Leigertwood lets fly from 30 yards. The ball ends up in the stand!
39 minsIronic cheers ring out as Suarez wins a free kick. Gerrard steps up and blasts it over the bar.
37 minsThe contest has even out somewhat since that goal went in. Reading are actually sending men forward, but look vulnerable when Liverpool are on the break.
34 minsChance! Suarez with a majestic strike from 25 yards that clips the outside of the post. Another let off for the visitors!
29 minsA brilliant finish from the youngster, who gets his first Premier League goal for Liverpool with a half-volley into the bottom corner. Great vision from Suarez to pick him out too!
29 minsGOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Reading (Sterling)
25 minsReading substitution: McCleary on for Karacan. Gerrard's tackle has brought his afternoon to a premature end. Let's hope that isn't too serious!
25 minsChance! Suarez tries to catch McCarthy off his line with a cheeky chip from the edge of the box. The ball drifts over for a goal kick.
23 minsKaracan came off badly during that tackle from Gerrard. He is receiving treatment on the touchline.
21 minsGreat counter-attack from Liverpool. Gerrard wins the ball with a crunching tackle in midfield and unleashing Sterling on the left, who is dispossessed in the area.
18 minsLiverpool are dominating play, forcing Reading to defend deep. They've still created little beyond half-chances, though.
15 minsSuarez lines up Sterling, whose shot is blocked. Unselfish play from the Uruguayan and good defending from Reading!
13 minsJoe Allen goes in hard on Kebe and gives away a free kick 40 yards or so out.
11 minsA Half-chance falls to Liverpool as Suso strikes from range. His shot deflects off one of his own players and goes behind for a goal kick.
10 minsLiverpool are playing some decent football here. Sharp passing from Rodgers's men.
8 minsNeat link-up play between Johnson and Suarez almost results in a chance for Liverpool, but tight defending from Cummings denies them an opening.
5 minsSahin presses for Liverpool but is adjudged to be offside. That was a tough one for the ref to call. I think he may have got it wrong. A let-off for the visitors there!
4 minsJohnson presses forward for Liverpool, but his cross is easily gathered by McCarthy in the Reading goal. He didn't look comfortable on his left foot there.
2 minsAn impressive run from Cummings leads to an opening for Reading, who force an early corner.
3.00pmWe're under way here at Anfield!
2.55pmFive minutes to go until kickoff. The two teams are heading out of the tunnel now...
2.45pmLiverpool, as we well know, have a knack for hitting the woodwork. They're better at finding the post than Royal Mail!
2.43pmPavel Pogrebnyak leads the attack for them. An interesting statistic has just come to my attention - he has only managed 11 shots on target in his entire Premier League career, and scored with eight of those!
2.39pmAs we expected, Hunt is missing from the Reading starting XI. That will be a big blow for them!
2.36pmSo the big news as far as Liverpool are concerned is that first choice keeper Reina has been passed unfit, so Brad Jones will line up between the sticks.
2.35pmAnd on the Reading bench: Taylor, Gunter, Pearce, Robson-Kanu, Le Fondre, McCleary, Roberts
2.35pmLiverpool subs: Gulacsi, Jose Enrique, Carragher, Henderson, Downing, Shelvey, Assaidi
2.33pmReading: McCarthy, Shorey, Mariappa, Gorkss, Cummings, Karacan, Leigertwood, McAnuff, Kebe, Guthrie, Pogrebnyak
2.32pmLiverpool: Jones, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Wisdom, Sahin, Gerrard, Allen, Sterling, Suarez, Suso
2.30pmTeam news is in...
2.29pmPersonally, I think Liverpool will edge this today with the home advantage. There are no easy games in the Premier League, but I think win-less Reading will struggle to cope with the threat of Suarez. I'm going with 2-0 to the hosts.
2.28pmToday's match odds are: Liverpool 4/11, Reading 8/1, Draw 7/2
2.27pmMcDermott's first win as Reading manager came at the expense of Liverpool at Anfield in a FA Cup replay, but they are the underdogs today.
2.25pmThe two met in a Championship play-off final in 2010-11 in which Rodgers's Swansea booked a place in the top flight at the expense of McDermott's Reading.
2.24pmThere's a fair bit of history between these two coaches. McDermott took over as caretaker manager when Rodgers left Reading to join Swansea in 2009.
2.23pmBrian McDermott: "I worked with Brendan for 10 years for the (Reading) under-17s and under-19s, so I know him really well. You need time. His philosophy is his philosophy and Brendan?s players have to get used to the way he wants them to play. That?s his business. He deserves to be there."
2.21pmBrendan Rodgers: "It is great for me to see the young players. It is just a case of weighing up whether they come in or not. Not every young player can play. This is an unforgiving league and my job is to nurture the talent and not destroy it. We have other players that we may be able to have some flexibility within the team (to cover for Borini)."
2.21pmPre-match quotes from both managers coming up...
2.18pmFor Reading, midfielder Mikele Leigertwood has been passed fit after recovering from a dead leg, but forward Noel Hunt could miss out with a heel problem.
2.16pmJonjo Shelvey is available again for the hosts after serving a suspension, while Jose Enrique and Jon Flanagan have returned to training following injury. Pepe Reina faces a late fitness test after picking up a minor hamstring strain while on international duty with Spain.
2.13pmThe Reds suffered a setback recently when Fabio Borini was ruled out for three months with that foot injury. That places yet more responsibility of the shoulders of Luis Suarez.
2.12pmLiverpool are still looking for that elusive home win of the season and are likely to go all out for it this afternoon, with today's opponents yet to record a victory since their return to the top flight.
2.10pmGood afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Reading. We'll have team news for you as soon as it's in, plus quotes from both managers and a few other tidbits.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
