Roy Hodgson expects to see Fernando Torres back firing on all cylinders for Liverpool at St James’ Park today.
The Spanish striker missed Monday’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa to attend the birth of his son.
However, the manager revealed Torres has looked sharp in training at Melwood in recent days and is desperate to add to his five-goal haul against Newcastle.
Torres was guilty of spurning a couple of gilt-edged chances at Spurs a fortnight ago and Hodgson knows he’s key to the Reds improving their dismal Barclays Premier League away record.
“Fernando looks fit, healthy and delighted,” Hodgson said.
“To be honest he looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
“And it must be a weight.
“It’s a long time since my wife was pregnant and my son was born.
“I’m not sure I can cast my mind back that long but I can half imagine what it must be like.
“It’s been good to see him flying around in training and he will be flying around at Newcastle. Let’s hope he’s flying around with a bit of success on the end of it.”
Hodgson has also called on Lucas to maintain his recent high standards in the centre of midfield alongside Raul Meireles.
The manager believes he has found the Brazilian a role which brings out the best in him.
“Lucas has been working hard on the tactical side of his game to help us with the shape of the team,” he said.
“He has picked up on that very quickly and is a very intelligent player.
“It would be generous of people to say he’s needed three years to come to terms with English football. I think it’s more a question of that he’s happy with his role.
“He knows what we’re looking for from him and he’s confident he can keep on delivering. He also has extra confidence from being selected for the Brazil national team.”
Owners John W Henry and Tom Werner are in the country and Hodgson will hold talks with them over the next few days to discuss the club’s transfer activity in January.
No figure has been put on what the Reds are willing to spend during the window.
“We are rich in certain areas but in other areas we are slightly lacking in depth,” Hodgson said.
“A few injury problems would put us in very difficult circumstances. The January window might still be important for us to make certain we don’t lose matches just because we’ve lost one or two players.
“I don’t think any owners make it 100% clear what they are prepared or are not prepared to do.
“We haven’t got to the stage where we’ve said ‘we are going to do this or that’.
“That’s ongoing and will feature in our discussions while John and Tom in the country and will probably go on after that.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Pacheco admits he would be happy to go out on loan in January to gain more experience.
The Spaniard recently penned a new contract to keep him at Anfield until 2014.
“In order to get some playing time, and if it suits the club, the best thing would be for me to go out on loan,” he said.
“However, we will have to see how things stand in January and if the club are in agreement, then a loan move might be best for everyone.”
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