Wednesday 18 November 2015 12:35, UK
Dejan Lovren is hoping to get the chance to impress Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp against Manchester City on Saturday.
Lovren has not started a game since Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers last month, but he is set to replace injured centre-back Mamadou Sakho at the Etihad.
The Croatia international kept Sakho out of the team at the beginning of the season, starting alongside Martin Skrtel in the first three games of the campaign, in which Liverpool kept consecutive clean sheets.
However, they conceded three goals against West Ham and Manchester United and Lovren was dropped by Rodgers for their next match against Bordeaux in the Europa League.
He has not started a Premier League game since September 12 as Sakho cemented his place in the heart of the Liverpool defence under Klopp.
The Reds' only defeat in seven games under the German came against Crystal Palace on November 8 after Sakho was substituted before half-time with the knee injury that ruled him out of France's friendly internationals against Germany and England.
"Mama had a really good couple of games and a good start to the season. We played in Rubin Kazan together and were feeling really good," Lovren told Liverpool's official website.
"But you never know in football, injuries can happen today or tomorrow. So you need to be prepared. I was working hard all the time so I'm ready and looking forward to playing."
The City game is the start of a tough run of fixtures for Liverpool with 10 games scheduled before the end of the year.
"Every three days there will be a game, so we need to be clever in our preparations," added Lovren. "We know we won't have as much training during the week and hopefully not so many injuries also - which is important at this time.
"It's tough - the squad is not so big because we have so many injured players. We need to be smart, we need to know how to rest and play smartly. We need to keep the ball.
"We know it will be tough, especially in December. You need to be clever about your body. It will be a good, cold and long winter!"
