Jurgen Klopp hints at Daniel Sturridge appearance

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that the return to fitness of Daniel Sturridge has left him with some decisions to make regarding his frontline.

On Tuesday night, Sturridge made his first appearance since December 6 in the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the FA Cup, successfully coming through his 61-minute stint from the bench unscathed.

Teammate Christian Benteke has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, with the Belgian failing to score in his last 11 games, and Klopp has suggested that he is contemplating alterations in his attack for the trip to Aston Villa.

The 48-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "It is the first time I've had this problem - usually anyone who could walk or stand up in a morning played! Now we have the situation where hopefully we have to make some decisions.

"Daniel Sturridge feels good. We have to think about how we can manage the minutes but he made a big step in the last week and that is good."

Liverpool begin the weekend in ninth place in the standings, 12 points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City.