Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is wary of the threat posed by Sunderland strike duo Victor Anichebe and Jermain Defoe.
The Black Cats face the Reds at Anfield on Saturday buoyed by wins over relegation rivals Bournemouth and Hull City in recent weeks.
Sunderland's resurgence has coincided with the return to goal-scoring form of Anichebe, who now has three in two following his brace against Hull.
Klopp is particularly concerned by the Nigerian's power up front and warned his players to expect a battle at Anfield on Saturday.
"It will be the opposite of easy," he said.
"Especially Anichebe. (He's a) very physical, strong guy. Maybe they (Sunderland) have played better games than against Hull and Bournemouth but they won, that's the most important thing. They have confidence now.
"Everybody knows everything about Defoe. He's a good striker, experienced and still really quick."
Klopp jokingly suggested Sunderland were favourites heading into this weekend's game given their back-to-back victories.
"Sunderland have taken six points out of their last two games," he said. "We only took four so they are favourites if you like."
Liverpool slipped to second in the Premier League table last weekend following a 0-0 draw against Southampton at St Mary's.
However, Klopp was happy with his side's performance against the Saints and believes a draw is a good result considering the quality of the opponents.
"I was really happy with the attitude and a lot of parts of the performance," Klopp said at a press conference on Thursday.
"The point helped, the performance helped and a game at Southampton is not one where you create 20 chances.
"We had five really big chances which was a really good sign but the Sunderland game will be completely different. They are a counter-attacking team."
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