Balotelli out of Liverpool's Capital One Cup clash at Bournemouth with groin injury

Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli will not feature against Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup quarter-final as he has not travelled with the squad.

The Italy forward was a second-half substitute in Sunday's defeat at Manchester United, where he made his comeback after more than a month on the sidelines with a groin problem.

Balotelli has stayed behind to receive further treatment on the injury at the club's Melwood training ground with a view to him being fit for Sunday's visit of Arsenal.

Rodgers is expected to name a strong side against the Championship leaders as he looks for a much-needed confidence boost after exiting the Champions League and losing to United in the same week.

On the cup clash at the Goldsands Stadium, the Liverpool manager added: 'We're in competitions to win trophies, so if we can get the victory against Bournemouth and get through, the aim for us would be to hopefully go on and win the competition.

'This is the first cup competition that you can win, so it was always a priority for me.'


Credit: Carl Markham/SportsMail