Liverpool’s attempt to quickly bring Sadio Mane back hits stumbling block

It's been a well and truly dry January for Liverpool.

Since the annual rendition of Auld Lang Syne faded out into the night, Liverpool have been having a dismal run of form. The 1-0 FA Cup replay win against League Two outfit Plymouth Argyle is the club's solitary win in 2017 so far. In January, they've secured just two points from three Premier League games and have been sent crashing out of the EFL and the FA Cup, by Southampton and Wolves respectively. A sure-fire anecdote for their start of year blues, would be to conquer, well, the Blues. In order to increase their odds of getting a result against the League leaders this weekend, they'll need all their stars firing on all cylinders, including Sadio Mane, who's set to return to England this week after Senegal's Africa Cup of Nations came to a premature end. Liverpool didn't try to disguise the fact that they desperately wanted to get the winger back to Anfield in a bid to lift them out of their current slump. The club even organised a private jet to bring him back from Gabon as quickly as possible, but Jurgen Klopp revealed at the pre-game press conference that this plan has hit a hurdle. He explained that there was a problem with the winger being allowed on the plane in Gabon, so the flight had to be diverted via Italy. This means that he won't arrive in England until Tuesday morning - the day of the game. Despite now being a doubt for the crunch encounter, Klopp remains upbeat.

"I spoke to him, it's all good so far, of course he will be in tomorrow morning, and we will have to make a decision - look into his eyes and see what is possible with him, and make a decision,” "I don't know exactly what involvement he will have. Ray, our team manager, did an outstanding job to bring him back as soon as possible, he's now on his way. That's good."

Liverpool fans will be hoping Mane passes Klopp's eye exam with flying colours.