A first leg 1-0 victory in the Europa League third round qualifying phase was secured courtesy of Stewart Downing's strike from range, but the match was a tricky one for the Reds as they battled against a fitter and confident team in Gomel.

Victory in his first game was as much as Rodgers could hope for; his players were still returning in uneven patches from European Championships and Olympics duty at the time and pre-season training had obviously taken a toll too, with some heavy-looking legs allied to some dreadful passing from players who hadn't yet regained their composure on the ball contributing to a below-par performance.

The second leg, at home, should offer a keen insight into how the Reds will approach matches at Anfield though this season and the side will be boosted by the returns of several players—including star forward Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan attacker is fresh from signing a new long term contract with the Reds and is believed to be a definite starter against Gomel as Liverpool seek to ease their passage to the competition proper.

A week's further training for first team players such as Steven Gerrard an Jose Enrique, neither of whom excelled in the first leg, will hopefully give the Reds a sharper look on the ball and facilitate greatly the passing and pressing approach that Rodgers wants his players to show.

New boy Fabio Borini is also expected to start again, though he will likely start on the left side of the attack instead of in the centre as was the case in the first leg. Borini is seemingly Rodgers' first choice to play that left sided forward's role for the forthcoming campaign.

Elsewhere, Lucas Leiva will be hoping to make his first start in eight months and Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey are battling it out for the other central midfield role.

Question marks continue to surround the futures of Andy Carroll and Daniel Agger—though the latter is expected to start against Gomel, which might quell some of the doubts on whether he will still be at Liverpool come the 1st September.